Kidnapped: Enslavement of the Fairies
by MyrtlePheonix
Summary: This is a story request that I have written for a friend. It is based on their story idea. I am constantly looked for story requests so if you would like to request a story, please do not hesitate to contact me!
1. Chapter 1

**The Nightmare Begins**

The sun was beginning to go down as Wendy and Carla made their way back towards the Fairy Tail Guildhall. They had been on a job and were tired and ready for a night in their own beds! They did not often take on jobs on their own, but this one had been fairly simple and the money was good. Most of the others were all away on their own jobs, so Wendy had taken it, more for something to do than anything else. As they walked back, Wendy chatted away to Carla, just enjoying her company. Carla was spending more time recently in her human form, and to Wendy, it was like having a sister. The day was still warm, even though evening was approaching so they were not rushing, just taking their time and enjoying the last of the sun. Wendy was enjoying the feel of the evening sun of her shoulders, her hair blowing gently in the warm breeze. Caught up in their conversation, they did not notice the group ahead of them until they were almost upon them. A group of three men and one woman were standing looking at what appeared to be a broken-down wagon, two horses grazing on the grass in front of them but still hitched to the front of the wagon. As they approached, the woman smiled at them. She was a tall woman, with red hair and green eyes, she was leaning against the side of the wagon, looking relaxed and unthreatening. As Wendy and Carla came up alongside the wagon, she smiled at them.

"Hi, we seem to have a problem with our wagon, do you know where the nearest town is so we can get help?" she asked.

Wendy smiled back as she answered, "Magnolia is just over the next hill, it is where we are heading so I can get someone to come tow you there is you could like?"

The woman looked at Wendy's arm, "That would be very kind of you. My, is that a Guild mark? Are you a wizard? You are very young to be part of a Guild!"

"I'm a member of Fairy Tail," Wendy said, "that is where we are heading now, it is in Magnolia."

Carla was standing next to Wendy quietly; she had a feeling that something was off about the situation but she could not work out what it was. She shook her head and thought to herself, 'I am just tired, that's all'.

As Wendy and the woman were talking, the men in the group were lingering around the wagon, poking at the wheels and looking underneath it. But even though they seemed to be focused on the wagon, they were obviously listening to the conversation between their female companion and Wendy. Whilst Wendy was talking to the woman, Carla took the opportunity to look at the men. They were all large men, but Carla did not feel that they were threatening. But she could not shake the premonition that someone was wrong. One of the men, caught Carla's eye and smiled at her but Carla noticed that it was not a smile that reached his eyes and she shivered slightly. She turned her attention back to Wendy who was happily chatting to the red-haired woman.

The woman gave Wendy a final smile and Wendy and Carla began to carry on towards Magnolia. As they walked away, the woman glanced at one of her male colleagues and nodded. He walked out from behind the wagon and raised his hands towards the retreating backs of Wendy and Carla.

"Sealing magic, bind them," he said.

Wendy and Carla, had no idea what had just happened as their bodies became paralysed and they were unable to move or speak. They were, however, fully aware of their surroundings and were able to see the group from the wagon as they walked around in front of them. The woman reached out and gently caressed the side of Wendy's face.

"Well you are a pretty little one, aren't you? You are going to make me a lot of money," she said moving on to look at Carla, "You not so much but I am sure we will find a use for you."

The woman stood back and nodded at another of her team, "Jax, put the magic restriction collars on before the seals wear off and then let's get them back to the ship, before anyone misses them and comes looking,"

Wendy tried to make her body work so that she could use her magic, but she could not move. She watched in horror as one of the men put a metal collar around her neck, before moving on to do the same to Carla. Throughout it all, the woman stood watching. The smiling face she had worn when she had been pretending to ask for help was gone and in its place was a hard, emotionless face. Once the collars were in place, she nodded at two of the men who picked up Wendy and Carla and threw them into the back of the wagon. The wagon started to move off and Wendy realised, too late, had been a trap all along. She lay in the back of the wagon, looking over at Carla but unable to do anything but try and send reassurance through her eyes. Carla stared back at her, a mixture of anger and fear in her eyes. Wendy was scared but she was also reassured that Carla was with her. Her only hope now was that once their friends realised that they had not come back to the guild, they would realise something was wrong and come looking. However, how they would find them, Wendy had no idea.

**Back at the Guild**

Oblivious to what had happened to Wendy and Carla, the life of the guildhall was carrying on as normal. People were arriving back at the guild as they completed their current jobs and the guild was buzzing with conversation and activity. Erza was sat at a table with Lucy, watching Natsu and Gray argue about something ridiculous. They were like a couple of children, they really where. If they did not stop, she was going to have to bang their heads together. Lucy looked over at her,

"Hey Erza, do you know where Wendy and Carla went today? I thought they were just going on a quick job, I expected they would be back before me."

"They have probably just stopped off somewhere on the way back, it is a lovely day." Erza replied, still watching Gray and Natsu.

"Yeah, I guess," Lucy replied, thinking it was getting dark and she worried about the younger girl.

Gray and Natsu finally stopped yelling at each other and came and sat down with Erza and Lucy.

"You two need to behave yourselves, you are not children anymore," Erza said.

Gray snorted, "Yes mum"

Erza glared at him and he looked away.

Lucy watched them, still thinking about Wendy.

"Hey did Wendy tell you guys where she was going today? I am probably being stupid, but it is getting late and she is not back yet."

Natsu shrugged, "No idea, but she is with Carla, she will be fine."

The conversation went back to what they had been doing during the day and their plans for the upcoming weeks. More time passed and night had set in, when Erza suddenly said,

"Ok, now I am getting worried. Wendy should be back by now. It is not like her not to let the guild know if she is not coming back when she said she was."

Lucy agreed, "Someone must know where she was going and what the job was. Mirajane will know, she looks after the job board."

Erza looked around and waved at Mirajane, "Do you know where Wendy and Carla were going? They are not back and it's late."

Mirajane paused and thought, "They only went to the next village up and it was a simple job, I would have thought they should have been back hours ago. That is slightly concerning."

Natsu leant back in his chair, "Relax you guys, she is a dragon slayer. Wendy can look after herself."

Lucy scowled at him, "Wendy is not you Natsu. Just because you are reckless and will fight anything, does not mean that she will"

Erza finished her drink, "It's fine, I will head over to the next village and see if I can find her. She may just have decided to stay there over night."

Lucy went to stand up, "I'll come with you."

"Ok, thanks," Erza replied seeing that Natsu and Gray had no intention of coming.

Erza and Lucy headed out of the guildhall and in the direction of the next village, hoping that they would find Wendy and Carla in a local inn and that they were worrying for nothing.

**Onboard the Slaver Ship**

Wendy and Carla were sat side by side in a small cell, somewhere in the belly of the ship. The binding spell had worn off, and although they could now move, Wendy was unable to summon any magic and Carla was not able to change out of her human form. They sat next to each other, holding hands.

"Where are we, do you think?" Wendy asked Carla.

"I don't know but wherever we are it is not somewhere we want to be." Carla replied.

No one had spoken to them since they had been thrown into the cell earlier once their capturers had returned to their ship. Wendy was desperately thinking of ways they could get out of this situation but without her magic, she felt totally useless. They had tried to remove the collars but the magic was too strong and they could not get them to budge. All they could hope now was that their friends would realise something was wrong and come looking for them.

Just then, they heard footsteps walking towards them and the red haired woman appeared.

"So how are my guests?" she asked.

"Guests?" Carla spluttered, "We are hardly guests! You took us captives and locked us in a cell! We are prisoners not guests!"

"My, you are a feisty one aren't you?" the woman laughed, "My name is Marielle and you are right, you are my prisoners. For now anyway. Once the rest of my crew return from their hunt, we will be heading off and you two will make a large amount of money of the slave market. After that, what happens to you is none of my concern. Make yourselves comfortable and do not cause any trouble and things will not be too bad for you whilst you are here."

With that, Marielle walked away smiling to herself. These two would bring a good profit. Now if the second team could find someone else as profitable, this would be a good trip and they could take some time off from hunting people to sell.

**Erza**** and Lucy**

Erza and Lucy had managed to acquire a carriage to take over to the next village which meant that the journey would be a lot quicker. In a way, it was better that Natsu had not come has he would have insisted on walking to avoid his motion sickness and that would have more than doubled the journey time. It was dark and the last thing they wanted to be doing was walking for miles in darkness when they could have some comfort in a carriage. As they travelled, they both kept their eyes open, looking for any sign that an accident may have occurred. Before long, the lights of the village came into view and there had been no sign of Wendy or Carla. They entered the village and left the carriage outside the only inn, walking in to see if Wendy and Carla had decided to spend the night there. As they two women walked into the inn, they were engulfed in the noise of chatter and the smell of cooking and beer. Erza walked over to the bar.

"Hello, we are looking for our friends. They were here earlier in the day to carry out a job for the village. They are from Fairy Tail." Erza said.

The man behind the bar looked back at her, "Oh yes, the young wizard and her friend. They were here this morning but they left hours ago. Must have been late afternoon when they left."

Lucy looked at Erza, "If they left in the afternoon, they should have been back by now. Even walking, it would only have taken them 3 hours or so."

Erza nodded, looking concerned. There was no way that it would have taken them this long to walk back to the guild. Something must have happened on the way back and she was worried that they were lost out in the dark somewhere, hurt and alone. She leant her back against the bar, trying to decide what to do. It was pitch dark outside and the chances of them finding them in the dark was slim, they could be anywhere between the village and the guild. Lucy stood watching her think.

"I think one of us should go back to the guild, let the others know what has happened and then we can get more people out looking. We cannot cover enough ground, just the two of us." Erza said.

Lucy nodded, "You go, you are better with the horses than I am. I will wait here and have a look around, in case they are nearby."

Erza agreed, "Ok but be careful. Don't go wandering too far in the dark. I don't want to have to come rescue you as well if you fall and break a leg in the dark."

Lucy smiled, "I will be careful, don't worry."

Erza smiled back, "Right well, I will be back in a couple of hours with the others. Natsu will just have to man up and get in the carriage, his fire will be useful for seeing around us."

Lucy walked out to the carriage with Erza and stood watching as she rode out of the village, heading back to the guild. What neither of them saw, was the innkeeper standing in the doorway watching them or the boy he sent out into the night, to let the slave traders know that he had another person they might find interesting in his sights. He had heard Lucy say she was going to go and look around the area and so when her friend came back and she had disappeared, well it could hardly be pinned on the village. For years, they had made deals with the slave traders and many travelers had never made their destinations when they had passed through this village. It was good money and the villagers had no qualms about turning over strangers and it ensured that their own daughters were safe. Lucy walked towards the edge of the village, blissfully unaware that she was now being hunted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Fairy Tail**

Erza arrived back at the Guild within an hour of leaving Lucy as the village. When she walked in Natsu and Gray were still sitting where she had left them.

"You find her?" Natsu asked "Where is Lucy?"

"Lucy is still at the village, we did not find Wendy. The innkeeper told us that she and Carla left the village late afternoon so they should have been back here hours ago, at most it would take three hours to walk the distance. Something has happened so I need you two to come with me because we need to find them."

Gray looked concerned, "This is concerning, if it was Natsu I would just assume he had wandered off somewhere distracted but Wendy is not someone who would do that. She would know that we would worry if she did not come back."

"Exactly," Erza said, "Lucy is having a look around the village to see if she can get any clue as to what happened. I have a carriage outside, we can be there in less than an hour and start a proper search. My worry is they laying somewhere injured."

Natsu groaned, "A carriage? Can't we just walk?"

"No, we can't," Gray snapped, "Man up and get in the carriage, Wendy is depending on you."

Natsu stood up and headed towards the door, happy flying by his shoulder. "Fine, but if I puke, it is on your heads! Probably literally!" he chuckled.

Erza shook her head and led the way out to the carriage, Gray and Natsu climbing up next to her. With a flick of the reins, they started back towards the village.

**Lucy**

Lucy stood and watched as Erza drove away and then turned and looked around the village. It was an average size and seemed to be fairly affluent. The houses were all in good condition and the people she had seen inside the inn had been well dressed. She walked back inside the inn and spoke to the innkeeper.

"What was the job what Wendy was doing for you?" she asked.

"We were having some problems with a monster, eating the livestock so we needed someone to get rid of it for us. The lass came and sorted it for us in no time at all. She is a powerful little wizard, that one."

"She is a dragon slayer," Lucy said, not noticing the look that flickered across the innkeepers eyes when he realised just who he had sent to be sold. If he known she was a dragon slayer, he would have asked for more money! He knew that Fairy Tail had dragon slayers, so his only concern now was whether the others would work out what he had done and come looking.

Lucy thought about what to do whilst she waited for Erza, "I am going to take a walk around the outskirts of the village, will you let my friends know when they get back?" she asked the innkeeper.

"Of course, no problem," the innkeeper said

Lucy smiled and headed out into the night. She was not worried about being out on her own as she was planning on staying within sight of the village and the houses would provide her with enough light to have a look around. She would leave searching further afield until Erza returned, and she had her keys if she needed any backup. After leaving the inn, Lucy waited for her eyes to become more accustomed to the darkness and headed off towards the far end of the village. As she walked, she looked around her. The village was quiet, people must retire to bed early here she thought. There were very few people on the streets and the few that were about seemed to be focused on where they were going. Lucy reached the edge of the village and stood looking off into the darkness. She heard a rustle somewhere off to her left and turned to look. She could not see anything in the darkness, and was about to reach for her keys to see if one of her spirits could help with some more light, when all of a sudden, she realised she could no longer move. Her body had stopped responding and she could not do anything, although she could still see and hear everything around her. As she stood, helpless, two large men walked out of the darkness towards her with a metal collar in his hand.

"The boss is going to be very happy with you, my pretty," the larger of the two men smirked.

Lucy tried to move, to reach for her keys but her body was frozen. The man watched her, sensing the internal struggle going on within her.

"Don't fight it my pretty, it is a binding spell and once we get this collar on you, your magic will be useless. You are all ours now."

He walked forward fastening the mental magic inhibitor collar around her neck. Glancing across at the other man, he slung Lucy over his shoulder, not noticing that he had knocked her keys off her belt as he did so.

"Right, Belish, let's get out of here and get this one back to the ship."

"Right you are Huw," the other man replied and with that the two men turned and walked away into the night, a helpless Lucy realising exactly what had befallen Wendy and Carla.

**One hour later**

Erza, Natsu, Gray and Happy arrived in the village, a relieved Natsu jumping down off the carriage before it had stopped. They looked around, taking in the lights of the village around them. Erza led the way to the inn, looking around to see if she could see Lucy anywhere. As they walked into the inn, the innkeeper looked up and smiled.

"Ahh welcome back! Your friend went out to look around the village and she has not come back yet, she said to let you know when you got here. Can I get you something to drink before you go out?"

"No thank you," Erza said, "We will go and find our friend. Which way did she go?"

The innkeeper thought and said, "I didn't see which way she went once she left but the village is not very big, if you head to the outskirts and walk around, you should find her."

Erza nodded and walked towards the door, the others following behind her. Once they got outside, they headed off in the same direction that Lucy had gone, keeping an eye out as they went. As they reached the outskirts, there was still no sign of her. Natsu looked around,

"Is it just me, or is it really quiet here? I mean I know it is night but it is not that late!" he said.

"It is a village you idiot, not Magnolia. They are quieter." Gray said, "Where the hell has Lucy got to?"

Erza shook her head, "No idea, I wonder if she found something and went to look into it."

Happy was wandering around, kicking at stones when he kicked something heavier and yelped.

"Owww!" He looked down and his eyes went wide.

"Natsu, I have found something!" He bent over and stood up, Lucy's keys in his paw.

Erza reached out and grabbed them from Happy. She looked at Natsu and Gray.

"What is happening here? Lucy would not have left her keys. Something is going on and I think wherever Wendy and Carla have disappeared to, we will find Lucy as well. We need to go back and talk to the innkeeper; something smells funny about all this."

With one last look around them, the group headed back to the inn to try and work out what exactly they were dealing with.

**Slaver Ship**

Wendy and Carla were sitting, their heads resting together, sleeping fitfully when they heard a commotion going on. They woke up and sat close together, not sure what was happening. As they listened, the door at the end of the corridor open and heavy steps walked towards them. The door to the cell next to them opened and there was a thud as something was thrown inside. The cell door was slammed shut and the red-haired woman looked over at Wendy and Carla,

"We brought you some company. Think you might know them," she said with a laugh. "Make yourselves comfortable, we are setting sail and you need to be fresh for the market."

With that she laughed and walked back down the corridor, followed by the man who had thrown the bundle into the next cell. Wendy looked over at the next cell with a sense of dread, seeing the mass of blonde hair on the floor. She crawled over to the bars between the two cells.

"Lucy? Wendy, it is Lucy! What is happening? Lucy can you hear me?"

There was no response from the next cell and Wendy was getting more and more upset. Carla moved over next to her.

"It will be the binding spell, Wendy. She can't move or talk to us until it wears off. Remember how we were. But she will be able to hear you, she knows we are here."

Wendy reached her hand through the bars, she could just about reach Lucy's hand and she sat holding her hand, waiting for the spell to wear off. Lucy laid on the floor of the cell, listening to Wendy and Carla's voices. She was relieved that she was not here on her own but she was upset and worried for them. She had heard the woman say something about a market and she had a horrible feeling that they were the things that were about to go up for sale. All she could hope was that Erza would get back to the village and realise something had happened to her. She had to put her faith in her friends. She knew that they would not stop until they had found her and she needed to be strong and hold on until they came for her, Wendy and Carla. There was no doubt in Lucy's mind that her friends would come, she just hoped they got here before they reached whatever market they were heading to.

**Back in the Village**

Erza led the way back to the inn, she was deep in thought and something was bothering her but she could not work out exactly what it was. She could feel the anger and worry resonating from Natsu and Gray. She held Lucy's keys in her hand. Wherever she was, Lucy did not even have her keys and so she would have to rely on her wits as she would not be able to summon her spirits to help her. Erza hoped that Lucy, Wendy and Carla were at least together somewhere. What worried her the most, was that whoever had taken them, must had been extremely powerful as they had taken down a dragon slayer and a powerful celestial wizard without anyone noticing and without leaving evidence of a fight. It was all very strange, and a little too convenient for Erza's liking. She stopped suddenly in the middle of the street, causing Natsu to walk into the back of her.

"They know," she said.

"Who know? What the hell you talking about?" Natsu said, rubbing his shoulder where he had hit against her armour.

"The innkeeper … the villagers, they are all in on this. That is why there is no one about. They knew something was happening and they are staying out of the way. The innkeeper, knows what is going on, I am sure of it." Erza said. "I felt something off about him from the beginning."

Natsu growled from behind her, "Well let's go make him tell us what the hell is going on then."

Natsu stormed back towards the inn, Gray, Erza and Happy close behind. As Natsu burst into the door, every eye in the building turned towards him. He stood framed in the doorway, flames burning up both his arms and magic power pulsing from him.

"You have one chance to tell me where Lucy and Wendy are, before I start destroying things and I will start with you," he yelled pointing at the innkeeper.

The innkeeper backed up against the wall, he had never felt power like this and as much as the slavers worried him, this worried him more. He looked behind Natsu and saw Gray and Erza, anger evident on their faces and he realised this was not a battle he could win. He sank down against the wall,

"Ok, ok, I will tell you what I know, just don't hurt me. They made us do it, I swear!" he cried, tears running down his face.

Erza walked past Natsu and crouched down in front of the innkeeper, "Talk now and I might not let him near you, lie to me and you are all his!"

The innkeeper nodded and started to talk


	3. Chapter 3

**Slave Ship**

Wendy was still holding Lucy's hand, when she felt Lucy begin to move. Slowly, Lucy moved to a sitting position and looked around.

"Wendy, we were looking for you! Where are we? Do you know what is going on here?" she asked the younger girl.

Wendy looked at her, "I am so glad you are able to move, I was so worried! How did they get you? They pretended they needed our help and then attacked us with the same binding spell they used on you."

"Erza and I went to the village where you did the job to look for you. When we realised something had happened, Erza went to get Gray and Natsu and once she had left, these people grabbed me. It was like they knew she had gone," Lucy said. "But Erza and the others will be back there by now, they will find us, we just need to stick together until they get here."

Carla looked through the bars, "Do you have your keys?"

Lucy patted at her belt, "No, I don't know where they are, if they were taken I need to get them back! But I could not use them with this stupid collar on anyway."

"I know, I can't do anything either and Carla is stuck in her human form." Wendy said.

Lucy leant back against the side of the ship, "We are moving, so it is going to be harder for them to find us," she glanced at Wendy, "Why are you not suffering with your motion sickness?"

"I don't know, maybe it is because they are suppressing my magic but I feel ok. Well as ok as I can feel after being kidnapped," Wendy said.

They pair fell silent as the door down the corridor opened and the red-haired women appeared.

"Good to see you are awake blondie," she said to Lucy. "Right, this is what is going to happen. You will follow all instructions to the letter, if you don't you will be punished. I need you unmarked but we have ways of making you hurt that won't leave marks, am I clear?"

There was no answer from the cells and so she yelled,

"I said, AM I CLEAR?"

Lucy and Wendy nodded, realising as one that their best bet was to play along until they found a way to get out of this mess.

"Better, my name is Marielle and you belong to me, until we reach the slave markets, then you will be sold to the person who offers me the most money! What they do with you after that, is entirely up to them. You two," Marielle pointed at Lucy and Wendy, "Are going to make me a great deal of money. So, this is what is going to happen now, you will be bathed and you will wear the clothes that I give you. When we reach the slave market, you will do as you are told and you will not try anything stupid. You follow the rules, life will be easier for you … well for now. You disobey me, your friend will suffer," Marielle pointed at Carla, "She is not worth as much to me so for every time you break a rule, I will take it out on her."

Marielle looked at the three of them to make sure what she had just said had sunk in, "Good, someone will be here soon to take you for a bath."

With a last look at the three of them, Marielle turned on her heel and walked back the way she came.

Wendy moved closer to Carla, wrapping her arms around her friend, "I won't let her hurt you. I will do whatever she says."

Lucy nodded in agreement, "We will do as she says for now, we are not going to risk her hurting you."

Carla smiled slightly, "Thank you but if the chance comes for one of you to escape, you should take it. Don't worry about me, I will be fine."

Wendy pulled Carla closer, "No, you are my best friend. If we can't all escape, we stay together."

The door down the corridor opened again and one of the men who brought them to the ship opened the doors to the cells,

"Right, lets get you to the bath, don't try anything or your friend will regret it," he smirked.

With that he pushed them down the corridor, towards the bathing area and the next part of their nightmare.

**Erza, Gray and Natsu**

The three wizards stood outside the inn, talking about the information that they had just gotten from the innkeeper.

"In some ways, it is not really their fault, I mean they are protecting their families," Erza said.

"Like hell," Natsu growled, "They could have come to a guild for help, they did not have to send other people to the slavers. Because of them, Lucy, Wendy and Carla could be anywhere by now."

"Getting angry with them is a waste of time now, hothead," Gray said to Natsu, "We need to concentrate our efforts on finding the girls."

"Gray is right," Erza said, "The innkeeper gave us a rough idea where the slavers have their ship, we need to head over there and, with luck, they will still be there."

"And if they are not?" Natsu said.

"Then we keep looking until we find them," Erza said "This is bigger than just Wendy, Lucy and Carla. How many other women have they sold? We need to get our friends back but we also need to make sure no one else ever has to go through what they are going through. We need to destroy them and anyone who works with them!"

With a final look back at the inn, Erza led the way out of the village and towards the coast line she believed the ship would be docked at, Happy flying ahead to make sure they did not come across any surprise problems on the way.

**Slaver Ship**

Lucy, Carla and Wendy arrived back in their cells, shivering from their bath. It had not really been a bath, so much as cold water being poured over their heads. They had been given towels to wrap themselves in and were then led back to their cells. They had all been put back into one cell this time, which was a comfort. A few minutes after they arrived back, Marielle had appeared and thrown a pile of clothes into the cell.

"Get dressed, we arrive in an hour or so and you better be ready."

With a final glare at the three of them, Marielle walked back to the main deck. She stood looking out across the water. She really hoped she made as much money as she thought she would this trip. She was tired and sick of sailing and kidnapping people. She wanted a break. A chance to do something less stressful. She looked back at her crew, they were a bunch on imbeciles but they were good at what they did. Marielle was not a sensitive woman and she had absolutely no qualms about selling people into slavery but sometimes, she wondered what it would be like to have a normal life. Then she realised she liked the money too much, and went straight back to the slave trade. 'Hell, who am I kidding,' she thought to herself, no matter how much she made this trip, she would be back out on the hunt as soon as the tide was in her favour. This was her life work and she was good at it!

Back down in the cells, Lucy was picking through the pile of clothes that Marielle had thrown onto the floor. She looked over at Wendy and said,

"These are not so much clothes as bits of fabric!"

Wendy picked up one of the outfits and her face turned bright red.

"I can't wear this Lucy! It is awful!"

Lucy walked over and out her arm around the younger girl, trying to comfort her. 

"We will work something out. Don't worry, I am sure we can get it on you in a way that does not look as revealing as it could," Lucy said, although holding the fabric in her hand she did not look convinced!

Wendy had stood quietly throughout the conversation, but now she spoke,

"Why are there chains?" she asked.

"I assume we are supposed to wear them," Lucy said, "I mean we are slaves after all. Come on we better get dressed or that woman will take it out on Carla and we don't want that."

Wendy nodded and picked up an outfit, which was basically a bikini. She put on the bottoms and the looked at the top, trying to work out how it went on. She looked over at Lucy who had put the piece of fabric round her neck, crossed it over her chest and tied it behind her back. Lucy glanced down at the chest,

"Jeez, it barely covers anything, this is trashy as hell!" she muttered.

Wendy was wrapping her own top round her body, trying to make sure as much of her upper body was covered as possible, Carla helping her to move fabric into place whilst putting on her own outfit. One they, were dressed, Lucy picked up the pile of chains, trying to work out where they went. She walked over and stood in front of Wendy,

"I think we will have to help each other with these!" she said.

Lucy fastened a cuff around Wendy's neck, just below her magic restriction collar and wound the chains around her arms, fastening a further cuff around her wrist. When she had finished with Wendy she did the same for Carla and Carla helped her with hers. Wendy was standing with her arms crossed over her body, looking like she was about to cry. Lucy hugged her to her,

"I will be ok, I am here with you and the others will be looking for us. Just be strong, we can get through this together, ok?" Lucy smiled reassuringly.

Wendy smiled slightly and nodded. Just then the door opened and Marielle appeared, looking them up and down.

"Looking good ladies, let's go, your audience awaits!"

With that she nodded at Jax and Heath who were standing behind her. The connected chains to the neck cuffs worn, and led Lucy, Wendy and Carla off the ship and into the chaos that was the slave market.

**Erza, Gray and Natsu**

The three Fairy Tail wizards arrived at the cove they had been directed to and looked around. There was no sign of a ship but looking around, there were signs that people had been there recently. On the beach, there was the remains of a fire and bit of rubbish were strewn around all over. Erza walked over to the fire and held her hand over it, feeling a slight warmth.

"This has not been out all that long. We cannot have missed them by much." She said.

Natsu kicked at the sand in frustration, "Now what?" he asked

Gray stood looking out at the water, "Happy could you go for a look? See if you can see a ship? If they have not been gone that long, we might be able to get an idea of what direction they are heading in at least."

Erza nodded, "Yes, that is our best plan at the moment. Of course, we cannot know for sure it is the right ship but there should not be too many big ships in this area."

Happy nodded his head and with a cry of "Aye Sir," launched into the air and went looking for ships. Erza, Gray and Natsu sat down on the sand, there was nothing they could do now but wait.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Slave Market**

Wendy walked behind Lucy, overwhelmed by the noise and dust of the slave market. Her eyes were looking in all directions, trying to get some idea of where they were. She was aware of people staring at her and she felt really exposed in the outfit they had made her wear on the ship. Unlike Lucy, she was shy and had never even worn a bikini around people she trusted, let alone a market full of strangers. She was fighting back tears as she walked and only the presence of Lucy and Carla had prevented her from breaking down. She drew strength from having her friends with her. In front of her, Lucy was struggling with her own feelings. She had desperately trying to work out a plan to get them away from the slavers but between the chains and the magic suppression collars, she knew that there was not really much of a chance, and without her keys, she was not able to use her magic anyway. She just hoped Erza and the others were coming and had found her keys.

Wendy and Lucy were both abruptly pulled from their thoughts as the slavers came to a sudden stop and Wendy walked into the back of Lucy. Looking around, they finally took in their surroundings. In front of them was, what could only be described as a stage. On the stage, were two girls wearing outfits not too different to what they were wearing. They looked terrified and confused as they were forced to walk around the stage whilst a man shouted out numbers and people in the crowd raised paddles with numbers on them. Wendy moved closer to Lucy and Carla and slipped her hand into their saying,

"What is happening Lucy? I'm scared!"

Lucy squeezed her hand, "It is going to be ok; I am here with you. I will not let anyone hurt you."

Carla was staring at the stage, "They are going to sell you, aren't they? How can they sell us? We are people?"

Marielle looked around at the sound of them talking "Be quiet, did I say you could talk. You three are up next and you will be quiet and do as I tell you."

Wendy gripped onto Lucy's hand harder and got a reassuring smile in exchange. The two girls on the stage were being led off the stage, tears running down their faces. Lucy watched as they were handed over to the person who had bought them. At least they had been sold together she reassured herself. So long as they were together, there was always hope. Lucy was pulled from her thoughts when there was a tug on her chain and they were led up onto the stage. Looking out, all she could see was a mass of faces. She was scared but she needed to stay strong for Wendy and Carla. Marielle walked onto the stage behind them and faced the crowd.

"I have a good bunch for you today! They are young, they will work hard. Let's hear your bids for the blonde!" she started.

Wendy looked over at Lucy in panic. They were selling them seperately. She tried to reach out for Lucy's hand but Marielle has unlocked Lucy and was forcing her to walk across the stage. Numbers were being shouted and paddles were being raised. The noise and the atmosphere were overwhelming and Wendy felt tears begin to flow down her face. She wished she could get the magic restriction collar off, then she would make them pay! At the front of the stage, Lucy was having similar thoughts, she did not understand why Marielle was selling them seperately. This was the worst thing that could happen. She could not protect Wendy if she was not with her. Lucy tried to turn her focus on the people who were bidding but the crowd was too big and the paddles going up in the air to fast for her to work out who was 'winning'. A few seconds later, she heard Marielle shout "Sold!" and she was dragged off the stage giving one last desperate look over at Wendy. As she was pulled down the stairs, all she could think was 'Where are you Natsu, I need you!' As she was led towards her 'owner' she looked back at the stage and saw the procedure being repeated with Wendy and Carla. She smiled sadly to herself, although she was worried about Wendy, at least Wendy and Carla would have each other as they were being sold together. Lucy turned back to look there she was going, for now all she could do was focus on herself and try and find a way out of this nightmare!

**Lucy's Nightmare**

Lucy sat on her own in a small room. The hours following the sale had passed in a blur and she had not had a chance to focus on what had happened. She had been handed over to a man who had hurried her into a closed wagon and then they had left. She was worried as she had no idea what had happened to Wendy and Carla and since they were separated, how would their friends find them. Lucy looked around the room. There was nothing in it apart from a bed, a small wardrobe and a chair. The small window had bars over it and there was no way she could squeeze through them. They had taken her chains off when she arrived but she still had her magic restricting collar on. Lucy put her heads in her hands, she could not believe that this had happened to her.

Lucy raised her head as the door opened and a woman walked in. The woman smiled slightly and shut the door behind her.

"Hi, my name is Dana. Don't worry I am a slave like you, you don't need to worry about me."

"Where am I?" Lucy asked

"You are in the home of Klaus Fabrial, he was the person who bought you at the sale," Dana said, "He is not as bad as some of the people who buy slaved but you have to be careful not to annoy him. He can have a temper at times. I assume you are a wizard, seeing as you have a collar."

Lucy nodded, "Yes I am a celestial wizard with Fairy Tail. But I lost my keys so even without this collar I can't do much at the moment. But my friends will come for me! I know they will."

Dana smiled sadly, "Don't hope too much. I used to hope that I would be rescued but after 10 years, I have given up on that hope."

Lucy stared at Dana, "You have been here 10 years?"

Dana nodded, "My job now is to make the new girls welcome and let them know what is expected of them. I am too old to dance anymore but he keeps me here so I can sort out the new girls he buys. I am lucky he as not sold me as I could have ended up somewhere much worse."

"Wait, too old to dance?" Lucy asked.

"Oh yes, sorry I should have said. That is why he has bought you. Klaus likes to have young woman who will dance for him. Don't worry if you don't know how, I will show you. You need to learn to belly dance for him. Here, I brought you some clothes that all the slave girls wear."

Lucy looked at the clothes that Dana had put on the bed, the would not cover much more than what she was wearing but they looked less trashy! Whilst they were still basically only a bikini, veils of lightweight fabric hung from the hips and bust, and a small veil covered her lower face. Bangles and anklets with small bells finished off the outfit.

Dana smiled at Lucy, "We are a close group here, the girls look out for each other. Whilst you are here, you are one of us. Now get changed and I will take you to meet everyone else."

Lucy felt slightly comforted in the presence of the older woman and stood up and took off the outfit from the slave market, replacing it with the one Dana had brought in. When she was dressed, Dana looked her over, adjusting her veils slightly.

"You look good in it, Klaus will want to see his new purchase today so you need to have a try at dancing." Dana said.

Lucy blushed slightly, "It is ok, I know how to dance. I had to do it once for an assignment with Fairy Tail. I will be fine."

Dana patted Lucy lightly on the arm, "Well come on then, let's go introduce you to the others."

Lucy smiled and followed Dana out of the room. She thought to herself, when her friends came for her, she would be making sure Dana and the others left with them. She was not leaving anyone behind.

Three hours later, Lucy had met the three other girls she would be living with. They were all young and pretty but had grown tough from their years as slaves. Dana watched over them all like a mother. Lucy was sitting in the slaves living room when a man entered and looked over at Dana.

"Klaus is ready for the new girl," he said.

Dana nodded and motioned for Lucy to get up and follow her. As they walked, she whispered in Lucy's ear. "Just do as he asks and be polite and you will be fine."

Lucy wanted to do the complete opposite but she knew that she had to play the game until her rescuers arrived. As she walked into the main hall, she was surprised to see that Klaus Fabrial was an old man. She had expected a younger man, who leeched over young woman and expected them to join him in his bed. Klaus looked like he was almost dead! As Dana led her over to the area in front of him, he raised his head and looked at Lucy. He nodded at Dana and said,

"Well come on girl, dance for me!"

Dana prodded Lucy in the back and as music stared, Lucy started to dance, moving her body and making the bells on her wrists and ankles jangle. As she spun and moved her body to the music, she was startled as she saw someone she knew out of the corner of her eye. It was only a quick glance and she was not even sure she had not imagined it but if she hadn't then things may just be looking up. She twisted her body around again and almost laughed in relief as from his place hidden behind curtains, Loki winked at her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Later that night**

Lucy was exhausted as she arrived back into her room. She had danced for hours, her only break when one of the other girls took a turn. Her feet hurt and all she wanted to do was collapse into bed. Dana had escorted her back to her room and told her to rest, before leaving, locking the door behind her. Lucy sat on her bed and waited. A few minutes later, Loki appeared, casually leaning against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lucy said

Loki shrugged, "I was checking up on you and how could I resist coming to watch you dance in that outfit?"

"You perv! I am in trouble here! They kidnapped me and now I am having to dance and I don't know what they did with Wendy and Carla and no-one knows where I am!" the words flowing out of Lucy like water.

Loki looked at Lucy, "Relax, I can get you out of here, it is not a problem."

Lucy frowned, "I can't just leave, Dana and the others need our help. They are being held here as slaves, we can't leave them here and this guy needs to pay for what he is doing to these women!"

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Loki said

"Go to the Guild, tell them where I am. I will be ok until you get back with the others and then we can take stop this old perv once and for all. Then we can go get Wendy and Carla, we can't leave them!" Lucy said

Loki frowned, " I could just take them all out myself. We don't need the others but if that is what you want, your wish is my command!"

"I know you could but if the other's are here we can get information about where the slavers are and they will know who bought Wendy and Carla. Once we get that, we can all go rescue them! And I want them to bring me some damn clothes!" Lucy said.

Loki pushed himself away from the wall, straightening his suit sleeves.

"I dunno, you look amazing in those clothes but if you insist, we will bring clothes," he chuckled and winked once more before disappearing to go back to Fairy Tail, leaving Lucy alone once again.

**Fairy Tail**

After Happy had returned to the cove to say that he had not been able to find the ship carrying Lucy, Wendy and Carla, Erza and the rest had decided that they needed to return to the Guild Hall to regroup and see if anyone had any information about where the slave markets may be. It was possible someone in the guild had worked a job that had dealt with slavers in the past and would be able to give them somewhere to look. Also, they wanted to let Makarov know what had happened.

There was a sense of anger and frustration laying over the guild as everyone tried to process what had happened. So far, no one had been able to pin point anywhere that may have a slave market but Levi was currently looking through books for any mention of a town with a history of dealing with the buying and selling of slaves. Makarov was pacing backwards and forwards, muttering under his breath and people were giving him space to calm down.

Ezra was sat with Gray and Natsu, trying to work out what to do next. They felt that they had run up against a dead end and until they had a clue where to look, they didn't know what to do. After they had left the cove, they had quickly returned to the inn to find out whether the innkeeper knew where the market was, but even the threat of Natsu burning him to death had not made him change his answer and they had reluctantly concluded that he did not know where the market was.

Natsu slammed his hands on the table, "We need to be doing something, we can't just sit here whilst Lucy, Wendy and Carla are missing!"

"Natsu, we all feel the same but until we have more information there is nothing we can do," Erza said gently.

Natsu growled and hit the table again. As he did, the door to the guild opened and Loki strolled in, heading over to the table where Erza, Gray and Natsu were sitting.

"I know where Lucy is, we need to go get her ... Oh and she said to bring her some clothes!" Loki said as the others looked at him stunned.

"Back up a bit," Erza said, "How did you find Lucy and how did you know she was missing in the first place?"

Loki shrugged, "I check up on her now and then and she was wearing very little clothing and dancing so obviously, I had to find out what she was doing. You know, get a closer look at the situation."

Erza raised an eyebrow, "Of course! Anyway, where do we find her? Are Wendy and Carla with her?"

Loki shook his head and filled the others in with the things that Lucy had told him. "I can take you to Lucy but from there, we will need more information to find Carla and Wendy. Lucy did not see who bought them and does not even know if they were sold together or seperately like she was."

Natsu stood up, "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go get Lucy!"

**Wendy and Carla's Nightmare **

Wendy watched in horror as Lucy was led off the stage and delivered to the person who had bought her. She looked at Carla and edged closer to her, trying to find some comfort in this situation. Marielle walked over towards her.

"Ok sweetheart, it's your turn," Marielle got hold of Wendy's arm and walked her to the front of the stage. Wendy froze, her fear making her unable to move and so Marielle forcibly walked her back and forwards across the front of the stage as the bids were shouted. After what seemed like an eternity, Wendy heard Marielle shout "sold" and she was pushed towards the steps and down towards the person who had bought her, tears streaming down her face.

Wendy tried to look back as she was pushed through the crowd, desperately trying to make eye contact with Carla but they crowd was too thick and before she knew it, she was pushed into the back of a wagon and the door slammed shut behind her.

Wendy sat alone in the wagon, wrapping her arms around herself. She flinched and pushed herself back against the wall as the door opened again. However, she relaxed and started to cry in relief as Carla was pushed into the wagon.

"I thought I would never see you again," Wendy sobbed throwing herself into Carla's arms.

"Did you really think I would leave you child?" Carla said, gently stroking Wendy's hair.

The wagon started to move and, in the back, the two friends clung to each other, taking solace from the fact that, for now, they were together.

**The Rescue**

Following the surprise appearance of Loki, Erza and the rest had begun to make plans for the rescue of Lucy. They had hoped that Carla and Wendy would be with her but rescuing Lucy would be a start. Loki had shown them on a map where the estate of the man holding Lucy was located and plans were being made about how to get there and the best way to deal with things once they were there. Natsu was determined on a go in and destroy everything approach but Erza was hoping to be more subtle so that they could get the information they needed without alerting any slavers in the area that there was a problem before they got a chance to talk to them!

It was quite a distance to the area where Lucy was being held but Loki assured them that he was capable of getting them there using his powers. It would save three days of hard travel over rough terrain and Natsu had not been looking forward to three days on a train or in a wagon! Once they had the basics of a plan in place, Erza stood up.

"Right, let's get going. Loki, get us to the area but not too close. We need to regroup once we get there and assess our plan." Erza said

Loki nodded and got ready to move them. Half of the guild had volunteered to come with them as everyone took it personally that members of the guild had been kidnapped but it has been decided that only Erza, Natsu, Gray and Happy would accompany Erza and Loki. Too many people would just draw attention to the rescue effort and could lead to Lucy being harmed by the man who bought her. Two hours after Loki had arrived at the Guild, the rescue party stood at the edge of a small area of woodland, looking at the grand estate of the man who thought he had the right to make women his slaves. Erza stood looking at the house, she would make him pay. As a woman, she was horrified that other women were being forced to satisfy the whims and perversions of a man. As a friend, she wanted to destroy the man who were forcing Lucy to degrade herself for his pleasure.

"We need to find a way in where we will not draw too much attention to ourselves," Erza said, "Loki can you go inside and let Lucy know we are here if possible?"

Loki nodded and prepared to leave. As he did, Natsu grabbed his arm.

"And give her these," he said, handing Loki the belt holding Lucy's spirit keys. "She will probably need them at some point."

Loki looked at the keys, "She has a magic restriction collar on but I will keep hold of them until we can take that off. It would alert them that something was up if I took it off before you get there."

Erza nodded, "That is true. Right, go tell her we are coming and then find us a door where we can get in without being noticed."

Levi gave a final nod and disappeared, leaving the others standing, staring at the house and waiting for their sign to move.

**Lucy**

Lucy was still sitting on her bed when Loki reappeared. She jumped slightly, lost in her own thoughts. Loki smiled at her,

"Sorry I didn't mean to startle you. Erza, Gray and Natsu are outside. They asked me to come let you know they are here. Oh, and to give you these," he handed over her keys.

Lucy looked at the keys in her hand and started to cry, "I thought they were lost!"

"Natsu had them, he must have found them somewhere. You can't use them until we get that collar off but at least you have them. You need to leave the collar on for a while until we are ready to spring you!" Loki said.

Lucy nodded and handed them back to Loki, "Look after them for me, until I can use them."

Loki took back the keys as they heard someone approaching the door to Lucy's room, "I am going to go let the others in, hold tight Lucy, we are coming for you."

Loki disappeared again as Dana opened the door, "Time to go again Lucy, Klaus can't sleep so he wants entertaining."

Lucy stood up and left the room with Dana, she smiled to herself as she walked back to the hall. Klaus might not be able to sleep for a long time once Erza and the others had finished with him. For the first time since this nightmare had began, Lucy felt like there was light at the end of the tunnel. Her friends were here, everything would be ok!


	6. Chapter 6

**Rescue**

Lucy walked into the great hall and saw Klaus reclining on cushions, surrounded by the other girls and drinking wine. He looked up as Lucy entered and clicked his fingers, pointing at the floor in front of him.

"What are you waiting for ... dance girl!" he said, leering at her as she walked over to the spot he had pointed at.

Lucy smiled and walked to stand in front of him. On the outside, she looked like she was being the good obedient slave but on the inside, she was thinking 'You are in so much trouble old man, Natsu will kick your ass!'

Lucy carried on smiling and as the music started she began to dance, waiting for the fireworks to start!

...

Outside the estate Erza and the others had moved closer, staying under the cover of the woodland that surrounded the estate. Natsu was getting impatient waiting for Loki to let them in and it was taking all of Erza's willpower not to smack him around the head to stop him running in on his own. A few minutes later, Loki appeared at a door on the side of the building waving his hand for them to join him. Erza and the others broke cover and ran across the gardens and through the open door finding themselves in a small room, filled with food supplies and kitchen equipment.

"This is in the slave part of the building so we will be ok. No one comes down here, except the slaves and most of them are in the hall with the owner or have gone to bed for the night" Loki said.

Erza nodded, "We will go in quietly to start with and take out any of his guards we find on the way to the hall. Then we go in and rescue Lucy and make that creepy old pervert tell us where to find the slavers that took Wendy and Carla."

Natsu smiled, "Don't worry, I will make his talk or I will burn him to death."

Gray sighed and smacked Natsu around the head, "He can't talk if he is burnt to a crisp, you idiot! Think about what you are doing!"

Natsu growled, "If he hurts Lucy, I will kill him!"

Erza scowled at both of them, "Both of you, pack it in! We need to focus on what we are doing! Don't make me hurt you both!"

Erza looked over at Loki, "Can you show us how to get to the hall. We need to take out any guards on the way."

Loki smiled and led the way out of the pantry, "It will be my pleasure, I have not had a good fight in a while!"

The group moved out of the room and quietly made their way through the corridors, for a house as big as it was, there seemed to be very few people about. Loki stopped at the end of a corridor and quietly pointed towards an arched doorway, covered with luxurious velvet curtains, through which the sound of music could be heard.

"That is the main hall, and by the sound of it, he has someone dancing for him. He will have a couple of guards in there and some slave girls if it is anything like last time I was here. I can check if you like?" Loki said.

"I am sure it will be fine we have dealt with worse before. Are any of them wizards do you think?" Erza asked.

"I did not see anyone using magic, but I can't be sure. I did not want to get too close last time in case they saw me and I was ... erm ... distracted at the time." Loki said smirking slightly.

Erza glowered at him, "I will kick your ass if you don't behave."

Natsu was stood listening to the conversation, getting more and more frustrated with the time it was taking to make a move. He finally pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning against and strode in the direction of the velvet curtains. Erza shook her head and with a resigned sigh followed Natsu down the corridor, closely followed by Gray, Loki and Happy. So much for working out a plan first she thought. It looked like they were making it up as they went a long, as they always did when Natsu was involved in anything! Sweeping back the curtains, Natsu swept into the room, fire burning up his arm and at that point the shouting started and chaos followed!

**Wendy and Carla**

Oblivious to what was happening with Lucy and the others, Wendy and Carla were concentrating on surviving their own nightmare. The wagon journey had seemed to go on forever, it was cold and uncomfortable in the back but Wendy had a feeling it was better than what was to come and so she cuddled up next to Carla and hoped that somewhere her friends were looking for her. It seemed a long time ago that she and Carla had left the Guild to go on the job that had led them to this nightmare. Wendy had lost track of time, but she did not think that much time had passed really and she had to stay positive for both herself and Wendy.

The wagon lurched to a stop and Wendy could hear the sound of voices outside the wagon. From the noise and sounds from outside, it seemed that they were in a city somewhere. She could hear the sounds of tradesmen shouting for people to buy they wares and the sounds of people going about their everyday lives. The wagon started to move again and she became aware that they were turning into somewhere and there was the sound of a gate being opened and then clanging shut. Wendy clung onto Carla and whispered,

"I think we have arrived at wherever they were taking us, I'm scared Carla."

Carla held Wendy close to her, "I am here child, I will not let anything happen to you."

The sound of voices getting closer to the back of the wagon, caused the two girls to press themselves back against the far wall of the wagon. They blinked as the door opened and light flooded in. A rough voice called out,

"Look lively you two, get out here now!"

Wendy stood up and clutching Carla's hand climbed out of the wagon, looking around trying to work out where they were. The emerged from the wagon into a courtyard surrounded by high walls and a big, wooden gate. The whole compound wall was covered in metal spikes and guards patrolled the top of the wall and stood by the gates. The whole atmosphere felt dark and Wendy moved closer to Carla, clutching her hand tighter, fear rising up in her chest. Before she had a chance to fully get her bearings, a rough hand grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the building. Another man had hold of Carla and was pulling her after them. As they entered the building, they were pushed into a room full of people. As the far end of the room sat a man, on a raised platform and with a sinking heart, Wendy say the emblems behind him and the reality of their situation sunk in. This was a dark guild and they had been bought by whoever was in charge. There was no way that this could end well. The dark guilds hated wizards from legitimate guilds and Fairy Tail had a reputation for taking down dark wizards and dark guilds. Wendy's fear continued to rise, without her magic she was helpless and all she could do now was hope that she could find the strength to deal with anything the guild threw at her and stay strong in her faith that her friends would come for her. She knew they would and that was the thought she carried in her mind as they were pushed forward and forced to kneel before the man on the raised platform.

The man on the platform started down at them. Carla shivered and moved closer to Wendy as she felt the threat in the man's stare. The man had dark hair and eyes the colour of slate, hard and cold with no emotion in them at all. He was around middle age and would probably have been considered handsome by some, before they saw the cruelty in those cold, hard eyes. After what felt like an eternity to Wendy and Carla, he finally spoke,

"My name is Auboron and this is my guild, Shadow Frost. I bought you and now I own you. You will do as you are told, if you do not, you will be punished ... severely. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," the two girls managed to stutter.

"Yes Master," the man behind them growled, hitting Carla across the back of the head.

"Yes Master," they repeated, Wendy crying slightly as she saw the man hit Carla.

Auboron spoke again, pointing at Wendy, "You will stay here with me, you are my personal slave and you will meet my every need ... and desire."

He then pointed at Carla, "You have I no use for but I have been told that my new slave is fond of you so you will be leverage so that she behaves and does what is expected of her. Every time you break a rule or misbehave I will punish the cat girl, is that clear?" he said looking at Wendy.

"Yes master," Wendy stuttered, clutching Carla's hand tightly.

Auboron smirked, "I am glad you understand. Hellex, take my new slave to get some more appropriate clothing that suits her new station and take the cat girl to Narissa at the brothel. She can stay there out of the way."

Wendy heard the word brothel and could not help but cry out, "No, don't take her there. Please, let her stay here."

"Silence slave! You will not question me! She will go to the brothel but she will not be put to work so long as you behave. I am feeling generous but do not push me!" Auboron yelled at Wendy.

Carla whispered, "Be calm child, I will be ok. You concentrate on surviving and we will make them pay when the others get here. Erza will come for you she said she would always protect you, remember?"

Wendy smiled through her tears and nodded, "I love you Carla, be safe."

Carla smiled one last time at Wendy before she was dragged to her feet and off to her new home at the brothel. Wendy watched her leave, she felt alone now. She had never been without Carla and she did not want to be alone here. Before she had time to think too much, a hand grabbed her by the arm and led her to the back of the guild, pushing her into a room.

"Get changed," was all the man who pushed her inside said, before shutting and locking the door.

Wendy looked around, taking in the bed and the bare walls. Her eyes were drawn to the 'clothes' on the bed and her heart sank. She had thought that the clothes they had forced her to wear at the slave market had been bad, but they were nothing compared to the outfit laid out on the bed. Wendy stared at it. There was no way it was appropriate for a girl her age and she suddenly realised that the man who owned this guild had bought her because of her age and appearance. His tasted obviously ran to younger girls. The fear inside Wendy was replaced by anger as she began to wonder how many other girls were trapped in this nightmare. She wished she could get her collar off and then she would make that perverted guild master pay. She realised her anger would keep her going and, reluctantly, she put on the clothes on the bed. He would not break her and she sure as hell was not letting him touch her without a fight. She knew Carla's fate rested in her hands but she thought that everyone here had underestimated both of them. Carla could hold her own and between them they could find a way out of this mess, either by themselves or by getting word back to Fairy Tail.

Wendy looked at herself, with a leather bodice and stockings, she looked older than her years in her opinion. The black leather bodice fitted tightly and laced up across the front of her chest. She had matching panties and black fishnet stockings with heels. In her opinion, she looked ridiculous but the creepy old guy obviously had weird tastes. She shook her head slightly; this guild had no idea who they were dealing with. She was a dragon slayer and she would make them pay!


	7. Chapter 7

**The end of Lucy's Nightmare**

Lucy was dancing, swirling in time with the music when the curtains behind her burst open and the fire storm that was Natsu burst in. For a few seconds, no one reacted as everyone tried to process exactly what had just happened but then realisation kicked in and the guards moved to protect Klaus, who was cowering on his cushions. Erza, Gray and Loki followed in close behind Natsu, forming a line front of Lucy. Lucy stood still, tears of relief flowing down her face.

"I knew you guys would come for me," she sobbed.

Erza pulled her into a hug and said

"We are family, we would never have left you here with this old pervert! Stand still for a minute, lets get this collar off you!"

Erza, very carefully, used her sword to pry open the collar around Lucy's neck and with a clank it fell to the floor. Lucy rubbed at her neck, relieved to be rid of the collar that had stopped her using her magic. As she did, she became aware that Natsu, Gray and Loki were looking at her and she became conscious of her clothing, or rather her lack of clothing!

"That the hell are you pervs looking at?" Lucy yelled hiding behind Erza, her face red. She glared over at Loki, "I thought I told you to make them bring me some clothes!"

Loki held up his hands, "I told them! We have clothes for you if you want to strip off and change ..."

"Like hell!" Lucy said

Lucy stomped off to the side of the room and grabbed a blanket from the back of a sofa, wrapping it around her body and glaring at Natsu, Loki and Gray.

"You can't release her, she is my property," Klaus screeched from his cushion.

"Shut your mouth," Natsu snarled, "You have no idea how much trouble you are in right now. You made Lucy cry and that makes me angry!"

Klaus moved further back, yelling at his guards, "Why are you not attacking them? They are here to hurt me! That is your job, to protect me!"

The guards shuffled nervously, they knew when they were outclassed and it was obvious that the wizards standing in front of them were massively more powerful than they were. Finally one of the guards decided to do something and made a charge in the direction of Lucy and the others. Gray sighed and covered the ground in front of the guard with ice, causing him to slide off across the room.

"We are not going to hurt anyone who co-operates, although I may make an exception for the old pervert" Erza said, "We are here to get our friend and to ask some questions and then we will be leaving."

Lucy added from behind Erza, "And we will be taking the rest of the girls and Dana with us when we leave!"

Klaus yelled again, "You are not taking my property! I paid for them; they belong to me!"

"People do not belong to you! You can't buy and sell human beings," Erza said, looking scarily calm.

Lucy watched Erza realising that she knew what it was to be held captive and she looked at Klaus thinking he had no idea who he was dealing with. Natsu had moved to stand next to Lucy, his arm almost touching hers as he handed Lucy her keys that he had taken from Loki. For some reason, it was important to him that he was the one to return them to her. Lucy smiled and fastened them back around her waist.

Erza was still glaring at Klaus and his remaining guards. She looked over at Gray and Loki,

"Please would you get the girls away from these people and get their chains off. Natsu and I will deal with this pervert," she said

Gray and Loki looked slightly disappointed to not get a chance to hurt Klaus but they did as they were told as Erza did not look in the mood for arguments. Gray led the other slaves and Dana to the back of the room and started to remove the chains, one eye on what was happening with the others in case they needed help.

Erza walked closer to the raised platform, speaking to the guards as she did.

"I think we all know that you have no chance against me. I am giving you a chance to walk away in one piece." Erza said.

The guards looked at each other and as one started to move away from Klaus, who yelled in protest. When the guards got half way across the room, Erza said one word.

"Gray…"

Gray smiled to himself and encased the guards in ice, ensuring that they could not go and raise the alarm before Erza was finished with her questions.

Erza looked over at Klaus, "Right now I am going to ask you some questions and you are going to answer, or I am going to let him" she pointed at Natsu, "loose on you,"

Natsu cracked his fingers and smiled, still standing close to Lucy who was staying quiet letting Erza deal with this. She was tired and relieved to be with her friends and happy to let them deal with things.

Klaus looked at Erza and seemed to realise the position he was in.

"What do you want to know," he asked, "If I tell you, will you leave?"

Erza smiled, "We will but if I think you are lying to me or not telling me everything you know, things will not end well for you. Where are the slavers who sold you Lucy?"

"How the hell would I know?" Klaus said "They move about, that's the whole point of slaving!"

"Where is the slave market then?" Erza asked

Klaus paused, considering the consequences of revealing the location of the market. "If I tell you that they will kill me," he whined.

"And if you don't tell us, I will so you need to decide which is the most pressing risk to your health," Natsu growled.

Klaus hesitated and Natsu sent a blast of flame to hit the wall just behind Klaus' head.

"Answer the question," Natsu said quietly.

"It is on the coast, about 5 hours ride from here." Klaus blurted. "Please don't tell them it was me that told you where they were, they will destroy me!"

Erza put her head on one side, "And you think we won't?"

Klaus stared at her, his face getting red with anger "You said you would not hurt me if I answered your questions! If anything you should be paying me, I am losing a lot of money on those slaves you are stealing!"

Erza's face did not change, she continued to stare at the old man on his silk cushions. She glanced back over her shoulder.

"Lucy, would you please go with Gray and Loki and take the girls outside please. We will meet you by the woods," she said calmly.

Lucy looked at Erza, her calmness was scarier than if she had been yelling. Lucy nodded and ran over to Gray and Loki, helping to shepherd the frightened girls out of the building. Once they had gone,

Erza glanced at Natsu.

"How do you feel about tearing this damn building to the ground?" she asked.

Natsu grinned, "I am definitely ready for that."

Klaus looked at them in horror, "This is my home, you cannot destroy it! Where will I live?"

"Not our problem, you old pervert," Erza said with a smile, "Requip…."

Natsu grinned, melting the ice around the guards, "You might want to run …"

Outside the building Lucy was stood with Gray and Loki, as the guards ran from the building. She looked at Gray who shrugged slightly. As he did, explosions started within the house, windows exploding and walls collapsing. Lucy heard a gasp behind her and turned around to see Dana staring at the house.

"They are destroying it," Dana said, face white.

Lucy chuckled, "Yeah we are Fairy Tail, it is kinda what we do! Especially Natsu!"

With a last explosion and groaned, the roof of the building collapsed just as Erza and Natsu walked out of the burning mansion. Natsu had Klaus slung over his shoulder and he roughly dumped him on the floor by Lucy's feet.

"He has something to say to you Lucy," Natsu said prodding Klaus with his foot.

Klaus looked up, "I'm sorry!" was all he managed before he passed out at her feet.

Erza looked down at the broken old man, "Right, we need to get to the slave market. Let's go find Wendy!"

The others nodded and whilst Loki took Dana and the girls back to Fairy Tail so they could be helped to rebuild their lives, Erza led Lucy and the others in the direction of the slave market and one step closer to finding Wendy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Wendy**

Wendy sat on the bed on her room and waited, a strange sense of calm had settled over her since she had been put in the room and although she was still scared, she felt more determined to survive whatever was thrown at her. She pulled slightly at the collar around her neck but it did not budge.

"If only I could get this thing off, I'd show them!" she muttered to herself.

She got up and pulled on the door but it was locked. With a sigh, she walked around the room trying to find anything what would help her when the time came to leave but the room was empty of anything useful. She sat back on the bed and hoped that Carla was ok. She had hoped they would be kept together but she was confident that Carla would be able to deal with anything that came her way. She was stronger than she looked! There was the sound of a key turning in the lock and the door swung open. The thug who had brought her here stood in the doorway and beckoned at her with his finger.

"Come on little one, the Master requires your presence," he smirked.

Wendy stood up and although on the inside she was scared and trembling, on the outside she did not let it show. As she walked towards the main room in the Guild Hall, she repeated her mantra over and over in her head.

"You are a dragon slayer; you are a dragon slayer and you will make them pay."

**Carla**

Despite her brave words to Wendy, as soon as Carla had heard the words "send her to the brothel" a fear had grown in her chest like nothing she had ever felt before. However, her job was to protect Wendy and the best thing she could do at that point was be strong for Wendy and reassure her that everything would be ok. She watched in dismay as Wendy was led off to another part of the guild hall and then she felt a hand dragging her to her feet and towards the main door. Carla was roughly pushed and dragged across the courtyard and out into the street. She tried to take in as many details as she could as she was pulled along the street but there were too many people to be able to clearly see what was happening. In only a few minutes they arrived at a house, which had banners on each side of the door with pictures of girls on. Carla looked at them and frowned, 'well that is classy' she muttered to herself. The man pulled Carla inside the building and she blinked in astonishment at the decoration inside. Everything was over the top and indulgent, the furniture covered in red velvet, the curtains the same whilst the wallpaper was flocked with gold velvet patterns. All in all, it was hideous but it definitely caught the attention of anyone who walked in. The man pushed Wendy forward, toward a woman sitting on a velvet sofa. She was middle aged but still beautiful. Her blonde hair piled up on her head, diamonds sparkling at her throat and clothing that screamed money. However, the whole image was spoilt by her eyes, cold and gray with the look of a predator. Carla was pushed to her knees in front of the woman.

"I brought you a new one, Narissa," the man said.

The woman on the sofa looked at Carla and it was clear she was not impressed with what she saw.

"Is she even human?" the woman asked, "She looks half cat!"

"I'm an Exceed," Carla said as the man slapped her around the head for talking out of turn.

"Speak when you are spoken to," he hissed.

Narissa got up and walked over the Carla, lifting her chin with her finger. "I suppose there may be some call for someone who looks different."

As she talked, the man passed her a note from Auboron, the guild master which stated that Carla was to be held to ensure that Wendy behaved and not to be put to work unless he sent confirmation that it should happen. Narissa scowled.

"So, I am supposed to just put her up in a room? This is not a hotel!" she said.

"Put her to work in another way, surely you need maids," the man said.

Narissa sighed and shouted out, "Lilia!"

A girl appeared through a door way and stood meekly in front of Narissa.

"Yes Ma'am" she said

"Take this one into the back and show her the ropes. She can share your room." Narissa said and with a wave of her hand dismissed Carla and Lilia from the room.

Lilia nodded and led Carla out of the room and through a maze of corridors to the back of the house and a small bedroom. She pointed at one of the beds.

"You can have that one," she said.

Carla smiled, "Thank you. My name is Carla."

Lilia smiled back, "It is nice to meet you. It is ok here if you do as you are told. Narissa is mean as hell but if you do not get on her bad side, you will be fine."

"My friend is at the guild; I need to find a way to help her. She is in danger and I am supposed to protect her." Carla said, looking upset.

"There is nothing you can do," Lilia said. "This is just how things are here. The Guild Master controls everything in this town and if she is with him, she is his property now."

Carla looked around the room and thought to herself that she needed to find a way to help Wendy. There had to be a way to get word to Fairy Tail to let them know where they were. She looked over at Lilia and wondered how much she could trust her. Maybe, just maybe Carla could find a way to get a message out but that would depend on making a friend of his girl and gaining her trust. Carla smiled at Lilia and said.

"So, how long have you been here? Tell me everything about what is expected of me. I do not want to get you or Wendy into trouble if I get it wrong."

Lilia smiled back, "Really all we have to do is make sure that the rooms are clean and all the girls are ready for when the guests arrive. We also have to serve drinks and food. It is not too hard and it is better than having to entertain the guests. I am going to have to start that next year when I am older and I don't want to but I don't have a choice, Narissa owns me."

Carla took in this information and realised that she could use it to her benefit. If they could get a message to Fairy Tail, Erza and the others would come and rescue not only her and Wendy but Lilia as well and save her from the fate she seemed destined for. Now all Carla had to do was work on making friends and convincing Lilia there was a way out of this mess!

**Wendy**

Back at the guild, Wendy was sitting on a cushion next to Auboron's seat. She felt very conspicuous in the outfit he had forced her to wear but she sat with her head up, refusing to look beaten. She was worried what would be expected of her and she had seen the leering look in the man's eyes as she had walked into the room. He had attached a chain to her collar so she was attached to him like a dog on a leash. Life was carrying on around the hall as if this was normal and Wendy had a suspicion that it was something that the guild members were used to seeing, a young girl chained up at the side of the Guild Master wearing totally inappropriate clothes. Wendy realised that other members of the guild were staring at her in a way that made her skin crawl and she thought that there was something very wrong with the morality in this guild. She smiled internally when she thought about the fun Erza and Natsu would have taking down this creep and if she could get her collar off, she would gladly help them. Lost in thought, she did not realise that Auboron had bent down towards her. She only realised when she felt a breath on her neck as he inhaled next to her hair.

"You smell lovely, my pretty one. You will make a good playmate. Don't worry, there is no rush. The anticipation is half of the fun," he smirked and moved back to sit up.

Wendy shivered in disgust and almost lost her composure but managed to keep her face neutral staring forward. She had never been so disgusted and terrified in her life. She just hoped her friends were somewhere heading towards her because there was no way in this world she was becoming this perverts plaything!


	9. Chapter 9

**Erza and the Others**

Following the destruction of Klaus' home, Erza had convinced him that it was in the best interests of his health to give them the whereabouts of the slave market. It helped that Natsu and Gray were stood behind her, looking ready to kill him. Lucy had taken the opportunity to change back into her normal clothes, although Happy had pointed out they still showed a lot of flesh and had earned a smack off Lucy for it. Loki had left to take the other slave girls back to Fairy Tail and Erza and the others were well on their way to the slave market. Lucy had updated them on what had happened in the time between her kidnapping by the slavers and her arriving at Klaus' estate. She could give no clue as to what had happened to Wendy as Lucy had been sold first and they had locked her away immediately so she had not seen who had bought Wendy or Carla.

"The woman who is in charge of the slave ship we were brought over on is tough," Lucy said "She will not be a pushover like Klaus was. In fact, she was kinda scary!"

Natsu snorted "No one is as scary as Erza!"

Erza sent him a look that could make a normal person's blood run cold.

"See …" Natsu chuckled "She is scary as hell!"

Lucy laughed, happy to be back around her friends and their bickering but worrying about Wendy and Carla. She just hoped that they had been able to stay together.

An hour later, the group arrived on the edge of the town where the slave market took place. It's streets busy with people from all over the kingdom wandering around and setting up stalls to sell their goods. Gray looked around.

"It looks like we might have come on a day when the market is happening. That might make it easier to find the slavers we are looking for. You would recognise them, right Lucy?" he asked.

"I will never forget them," Lucy said, shivering slightly.

Lucy led the way towards the stage where she had been sold. There were no slaves being sold at the moment but she noticed that the cages where she had been held were full and so it appeared that at some point the market would be happening. She stopped walking and stood staring at the cages and the people huddled inside, some of them no more than children.

"It is not right," she muttered "Look at them, they are so scared and they look like they have given up hope."

Natsu wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close earning a raised eyebrow from Gray in the direction of Erza.

"It is ok Lucy," Natsu said "We are here and we are their hope now. This evil trade in human misery is about to get a shock."

Lucy looked at him "What do you mean?"

Erza walked over to stand next to them, "He means we are taking them all down. We can't put a permanent stop to this but we can make a difference to the futures of these slaves and I will make it my life's work to carry on taking down slavers if I have to. No one should go through what I did as a child."

Lucy looked over at Erza and saw the anger deep in her eyes and she looked at the cages of people. Lucy smiled over at Erza.

"You will not be doing it alone! Once we get Wendy and Carla back, I am sure they will be keen to help us too!" Lucy said.

"You have me too," Gray said "I am sure the rest of the guild will feel the same."

Erza nodded, never taking her eyes of the cages.

"I agree but right now we need to deal with this. Let's cause some mayhem! Be careful no innocent people get hurt!" she said looking at Natsu and Gray.

Natsu nodded and muttered, "They are all profiting off human misery here, no one is totally innocent!"

Erza looked at him until he agreed to not hurt the normal traders and then the group walked forward and into the slave market looking for the slavers who had taken Lucy, Wendy and Carla. A few minutes later, Lucy stopped and moved to stand slightly behind Gray and Natsu. She pointed at a woman standing talking to a group of men.

"That's Marielle. She is the one who was in charge of the group of slavers who sold us." Lucy said.

Erza stood looking at the woman, trying to understand what would make one woman sell another woman into slavery, or any other human being for that matter.

"We need a plan," Erza said "If we go in all heavy handed, people are going to get hurt in the cross fire. It says on that poster that the sale is not until tomorrow so we have time. Let's go find an inn and we will work out the best option."

Natsu and Gray scowled as they had been ready to go in now but the look on Erza's face didn't encourage argument and so they turned and followed Erza out of the market and into the nearest inn. Lucy was looking around all the time worried that someone would recognise her so on the way, they had bought her a cloak with a hood so that she could hide her face and she felt safer once she could hide within the hood, she left it up even in the inn. Once seated the group ordered food and drink and started to plan out what they would do.

"It makes sense that we go in at night as there will be fewer guards and we can hopefully catch the slaver woman off guard and asleep." Erza said.

"Then we grab her and make her tell us where Wendy and Carla went?" Lucy asked.

"And maybe rough her and her men up a bit?" Natsu asked hopefully.

Erza scowled at Natsu "Only if we have to! Right, Natsu and I will take the Slaver. Lucy and Gray, I want you to deal with any other guards and open the slave cages, get the people in them out of here. Once we have the woman, we will regroup outside the village. Natsu can set some buildings on fire to give the slaves a chance to get away in the chaos."

The plan in place, all they could do now was wait for nightfall and hope everything went smoothly.

**Wendy and Carla**

Wendy had been sitting next to Auboron's seat for what felt like forever but in reality, was probably only a few hours. Every now and then he would lower his hand and stroke her hair or reach down and sniff at her. Every time he did, Wendy had to use every ounce of her self-control not to pull away or show how repulsed she was feeling as she had a feeling that it would not go well for her if she did. The door to the hall opened and a woman walked in, making her way to the front of the room. Auboron looked at her and smiled,

"Narissa, to what do I own this honour?" he asked.

"I came to see who the new girl was that was so important I had to feed another mouth at my place! I figured she must be something special if you wanted me to babysit a girl without putting her to work." Narissa replied.

Wendy started at the woman and realised she was talking about Carla. Without thinking she blurted out.

"Where is Carla? Is she ok?"

Narissa raised an eyebrow and as she did, Auboron moved his hand and cuffed Wendy across the head, knocking her off her cushion to sprawl across the floor. For a moment, Wendy laid on the cold

stone floor stunned, her ears ringing from the blow.

"You will not speak unless you are asked," Auboron roared, his face twisted with anger "Now look what you made me do! Get up girl and get back to your rightful place."

Wendy pulled herself up and dragged herself back to her cushion, her ears still ringing. She managed to get on her knees and Auboron patted her gently on the head.

"Believe me, I don't like to hurt you my pretty but you made me. Do not make me hurt you again," he said turning his attention back to Narissa.

"As you can see, this little one is still quite feisty so I need a way to make sure she learns without having to hurt her, like she just made me do. Next time she speaks out of turn, you are to beat her friend. I can't have my pretty one covered in bruises, now can I?" Auboron smiled.

Narissa nodded "No that would never do, would it?" she asked, slight sarcasm in her voice.

Wendy listened to the conversation in horror. She would need to be careful if she was to protect Carla. At the same time, she had noticed that Narissa did not seem to be scared of Auboron. Everyone around him walked like they were stepping on egg shells, never talking without being asked but Narissa seemed not to care. Wendy glanced over at the woman and saw her looking at her, especially at the guild mark on her right shoulder.

"Well my curiosity is sated so I will return to my girls, we need to be getting ready to open." Narissa said.

With one last look at Wendy, Narissa spun round and walked out of the room heading back to her brothel lost in thought.


	10. Chapter 10

**Erza and the Others**

Erza and the others had spent the day in the inn, laying low. Natsu and Gray had taken turns to go out into the slave market, posing as potential buyers so that they could get a good idea of the layout of the market and keep an eye on Marielle and her crew. After what felt like forever, night finally arrived and they went out into the streets, ready to cause some chaos. The streets were still busy, people drinking and looking into the cages. Lucy walked behind Gray and Natsu, the hood of her cloak pulled around her face. When they reached the edge of the hold cages, Erza stopped.

"Ok, we all have our roles. We go in, we hit hard and we get out," she said.

Natsu, Gray and Lucy nodded and as Gray and Lucy went off to start freeing the slaves, Natsu and Erza headed deeper into the market looking for Marielle. Erza did not speak as she walked through the cages and Natsu could see from the look in her eyes that she was not in the mood for conversation. They approached the area where they had seen Marielle earlier and saw that they were still sitting outside the tents. Erza looked and held up a hand to stop Natsu from rushing forward.

"Wait for Gray and Lucy to start causing a commotion and then we can grab her in the confusion. I want this to be a quick as possible before her crew notice we have her," she said.

Natsu nodded and together they stood waiting for the first sounds that meant that Lucy and Gray had begun to free the slaves. It didn't take long. A few minutes later, a huge sheet of ice shot up into the sky and the shouting began. Erza looked and sighed,

"I said not to overdo it! Never mind, let's do this!" she said.

As the shouting continued, Marielle stood up and started barking orders to her men to protect their slaves. The crew ran off in different directions and Marielle stood alone, looking around. From the distance, the sounds of shouting got louder and the streets got busier as freed slaves mixed with locals. Erza walked forward, paying attention to nothing other than Marielle. Natsu hung back sensing this was something Erza needed to do. Marielle noticed Erza walking towards and drew her sword, taking up a fighting stance. Erza smiled slightly as she muttered "Requip" and walked forward wearing her Clear Heart Clothing, sword held by her side. Marielle smiled slightly,

"I should have known the Fairies would come when we took the others. You are too late, they are not here," she said.

"I am aware of that," Erza said, "Although Lucy is closer than you would think. Now I want to know where Wendy and Carla are."

Marielle stood looking at Erza, "You came looking for a fight, didn't you? Well I am going to have to disappoint you. There is no benefit to me in getting into a fight with you. I know who you are, I can't beat you, I am realistic enough to know that."

Natsu stood off to the side, suddenly moved and punched one of Marielle's crew in the head as he tried to creep up behind Erza. Marielle watched and shook her head.

"I'll make a deal with you. You don't kill me and I will tell you who bought the other two members of your guild," Marielle said.

Erza stood quietly, although she wanted nothing more than to beat this woman, she knew that realistically it was getter to get the information they needed and leave as soon as they could.

"I agree that we will not kill anyone but we want the truth." Erza said.

"I don't owe the slime bag who bought them anything, he is a creep even by my standards. His name is Auboron and he owns a guild in the next city to the west of here." Marielle said.

Just then Gray and Lucy walked around the corner.

"All the cages are open," Gray said.

Lucy did not say anything she just took her hood down and stared at Marielle.

"Wendy and Carla better be safe or I swear I will spend my life tracking you down," Lucy said,

Marielle answered, "I don't doubt that you will. I have given your friend the name and location of the man who bought them. The rest is up to you."

Erza nodded at the others, "Let's go, we have travelling ahead of us."

As they walked away from the market, the sounds of fighting came from all around them. Erza looked back at Natsu.

"Burn the cages, all of them, and when we get to the docks, I want you to burn that bitch's ship to a cinder," she said.

Natsu grinned and set about setting the cages on fire as he walked past. Once they reached the dock, he decided as he didn't know which was the right ship, he would just burn them all. As the group walked away into the night, they were silhouetted by the sight of ships burning. No one spoke, but they all considered it a good night's work as they headed closer to rescuing Wendy and Carla.

**Carla**

Carla looked around the room that she was cleaning and sighed. She assumed that a problem would be found as it seemed that the other slaves seemed to take great delight in picking fault with everything she did. Lilia had told her it was because the others resented her. She was being kept at the brothel without being put to work and so they thought she was being treated better than any of them and so they were taking that out on her. Carla wondered how Wendy was but she shook her head, it did not good to think about it as she always ended up with the worst-case scenario! She looked around the room once more and then walked out into the corridor. As she did, the owner of the brothel walked to the door of her room and beckoned Carla inside. Carla sighed again and went in, expecting the worse.

Narissa walked over to sit behind her desk and motioned for Carla to take a seat opposite her. Carla was not expecting that and so she sat down slowly, waiting to see where this was going.

"I went to the guild today and saw your friend," Narissa said.

"Is she ok?" Carla asked, her need to know overcoming her fear of speaking out of place.

"As well as can be expected in that pervert's guild but I don't know how long that will last," Narissa said. "You are both with the Fairy Tail guild, are you not?"

Wendy raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Yes we are, why?"

Narissa laughed slightly, "Even here we have heard about your guild's reputation and I am not stupid enough to think that they will not be coming for you and bringing hell with them. I am going to tell you some things but this has to stay between us and if I hear any word of it outside this office, you will pay. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," Carla answered.

Narissa took a deep breath, "I came here the same as everyone else, I was brought in on a slave ship when I was a young girl. I have worked hard to get where I am and although you may find this hard to believe, I hate Auboron with a passion. I hate the slave trade and I hate the fact the girls here have to work as prostitutes to stay alive. I try and protect them as much as I can but it is getting harder."

"So why don't you just leave or do something more?" Carla asked.

Narissa snorted, "Do you want to know what Auboron does to anyone who tries to leave or stands up to him? He has torture rooms under the guild and then your head ends up on a spike as a warning to others. I protect as many girls as I can but there are so many, I can't protect them all."

"So, what do you want from me? I am a slave. There is nothing I can do," Carla said.

"I am aware of that. But your guild can and do you think I don't know who that little girl up in the guild is? She is a dragon slayer, is she not?" Narissa said, eyebrow raised.

"She is but with her collar on, she can't do anything," Carla said, trusting the older woman.

Narissa smiled, "Well, we are going to work on that but first things first. We need to get a message out to your guild mates. For the first time since I got her, I really think we have a chance to take him down. You have no idea how happy that makes me." Narissa paused. "Once a long time ago, my daughter was chained by his side and he got tired of her and killed her and there was nothing I could do. But that has changed. Will you help me?"

Carla listened to the older woman, feeling her pain. "We will help you, for Wendy and your daughter and everyone else. I know who will be coming and they will make him pay."

Narissa nodded, "I am risking a lot trusting you but I need to do this. Let's get started and get a message out!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Erza and Others**

The group had walked late into the night, trying to cover as much ground as possible before stopping to grab a few hours sleep in a small woodland. As soon as the sun rose, they set off again and by late morning, the walls of the town came into sight. Erza held up her hand and the group stopped.

"We need to find out if this is the correct town. There are another two in this direction so we cannot go in heavy handed to the wrong town and give them a heads-up that we are in the area," she said.

Lucy stared down at the town, "It looks so peaceful down there. Maybe we have the wrong place. Marielle said that the town we are looking for is run by a tyrant."

"It is still early," Gray pointed out, "No one is really out and about yet."

Erza stood looking down at the town, thinking.

"We have the advantage at the moment that they do not know we are coming. That woman and the rest of the slavers will have been distracted putting the fires out but in a few hours, word will begin to spread. We need to work out whether we are in the right place or not."

Lucy suddenly looked up, "Wait, didn't Marielle say that this Auboron was a creep? Usually that means they have brothels and stuff like that, which is a good place to get information."

Natsu scowled, "I am not going in a brothel! That's creepy and not right!"

Lucy sighed, "I was not thinking of sending you and anyway it is just to talk to people. But who do we know who can be a total perv at times?"

Gray and Natsu both answered at once, "Loki."

Lucy nodded and got out her key, calling Loki back to help them.

**Carla and Narissa**

Carla had been awake most of the night trying to decide whether Narissa was telling the truth or whether this was a test to see if she was going to cause trouble, which would end up with both Wendy and herself being punished. Carla liked to believe that she was a good judge of character and deep down she really thought that Narissa had been telling her the truth. As morning arrived, she rolled out of bed and got dressed, ready for another day of work. Narissa had not said how they were going to get messages out and she hoped that at some point today, she would talk to her again. Carla just wished she could let Wendy know that they now had an ally and that things were going to get better. Carla, walked out of her room and into the main hall feeling more positive than she had in ages.

**Erza and the Others**

Back outside the town, Lucy was explaining to Loki what they needed him to do. The plan was that he would go into the town and get a feel for the place. He was a lot less recognisable than the others

and so, he would be able to move about without causing too much suspicion.

"Also, you are much more comfortable with flirting and being an all round perv," Lucy muttered.

Loki grinned, "I prefer to think that I am charming and popular with the ladies."

"Yeah, whatever perv," Lucy said.

Erza stood behind Loki, "You do not overstep any boundaries, is that clear? We are here to tear this business down, not contribute to it!"

For a second, Loki looked hurt, "Please Erza, give me some credit! I would never do anything like that with a woman who did not chose to do so by herself."

Erza shook her head, "I'm sorry Loki, I am just on edge. I am worrying about Wendy. She is just a kid and if they have made her do anything like that … I will kill them."

Loki smiled slightly, "Erza I think you will have to fight us all for the opportunity to do so. Don't worry I have this. I will find them."

Loki smiled one more time and set off for the town, Erza and the others following a distance behind to find an inn big enough and busy enough, that no one would pay attention to a group of travelers just stopping for a drink and some breakfast. Once they had found somewhere suitable, they sat down and waited for Loki to return.

**Carla and Loki**

Loki wandered around the streets, getting his bearings. Looking at the stalls being set up in the streets and pausing to look in shop windows, just another out of town visitor. Whilst he stared in the windows, he used the glass to get an idea of the type of people walking around. The streets were filled with a mix of normal everyday people and others who looked like they were not strangers to throwing their weight around when they felt like it. Loki stopped one such person and straightening his suit cuffs asked;

"Hello, I am visiting on business and I wondered if you knew where a man might get some refreshment and entertainment?"

The man eyed Loki up and down, "Well you seem like a man of refinement and if I am understanding you correctly, you would probably find what you want at Narissa's House. It is down there, on the left."

Loki nodded his thanks and walked in the direction he had been given. He did not know if he was on the right track but it was a start and he was very good at getting people to talk, especially ladies. He arrived at the house and looked up, realising it was a brothel and with a sigh, he climbed the steps and ran the bell for admittance. The door was opened almost immediately and a young girl ushered Loki into an entrance hall where an older woman was waiting.

"How can I help you this morning?" the older woman asked, taking in Loki's nice clothes

"I have been on the road for a while, I'm tired and need to breakfast and company. I was told this may be the place the find such a thing," Loki replied.

"You have come to the right place; Lilia show out guest into the lounge and arrange some refreshments."

Lilia nodded and led the way to a room, filled with sofas and cushions and pointed to a comfortable looking seating area. The room was fairly empty, only a couple of older men leaning back on the sofa drinking and leering at the half-dressed young girls with them. Loki felt anger rising in his chest as he took in the scene. Some of the girls were younger than any man should be touching. He pushed it down and took a seat, thinking Erza might be too late to destroy things as he might have beaten her too it if he saw anything he could not stand by and watch!

Carla was in the kitchen when Lilia walked in and told her there was a new client and Narissa had asked for tea to be taken to them. Lilia had been busy all morning and Wendy smiled and said that she would take this one. She piled tea things onto a tray and walked back to the lounge. As she walked in, she almost dropped the tea tray in shock but recovered well. She looked across the room and met the eye of a man she knew. She smiled slightly, and was relieved when Loki discretely winked at her. Carla almost laughed out loud as relief flooded through her. She placed the tea on the table in front of Loki and bowed slightly as she had been taught. As she turned to leave, Loki held up a hand and caught the attention of Narissa.

"I would like the company of this one," he said, pointing at Carla.

"I am afraid she is not one of the company girls," Narissa said.

"I will pay double whatever you would charge for one of the other girls," Loki countered

Narissa raised an eyebrow and Carla caught her eye, nodding at her that this was something she should do. With her back to everyone else, Carla mouthed "Fairy Tail," at Narissa, hoping she was not making a mistake. Narissa nodded and said,

"Of course, Sir, we always aim to please the client, she will be available to you for as long as you need."

Narissa walked back to her seat in the corner of the room and Carla sat down next to Loki, emotion almost taking over as she said,

"I am so glad to see you. We need help here."

Loki smiled and gently laid his hand on hers, "Don't worry," he said quietly "I am the advance party, Erza and the rest are here too but they are too recognisable. I just needed to find you and Wendy and then they will come."

Carla smiled and poured tea, needing to keep up the show for the other patrons who may report to Auboron. Quietly, she described the situation to Loki and explained that Wendy was not here but was at the main guild hall. She also told him that Narissa was helping her and that she wanted to end Auboron as much as they did and free the girls from their lives as prostitutes, she just needed help. Loki glanced over at Narissa, frowning slightly.

"Are you sure you can trust her?" he asked.

Wendy nodded, "Yes I am. I was worried at first but she genuinely cares for these girls and she was brought here as a slave too."

Loki thought and drank tea, "Ok, well I need to go and tell the others I have found you and then we will start to get ready to get you and Wendy out of this mess. I will come back tonight as a guest and ask for you. That way I can tell you the plan. Whilst I am gone, asked the Madam if you she would speak to Erza and the others. We need to make sure we can trust her."

Wendy nodded and smiled as Loki stood up and prepared to leave. She walked across the room to the door and paused as Loki looked over at Narissa.

"Thank you for the tea. I enjoyed it. I believe I will come back tonight, please could you make sure this girl is free," he said.

Narissa nodded, "Of course, I will arrange that for you."

Loki nodded once more and then walked out into the streets. He was aware that some of the tougher looking men were looking at him. A new face in town was always going to draw attention so he played it cool, buying some goods and wandering around until they lost interest. Once he was sure no one was following him, he walked back to the edge of town to the inn where he sensed Lucy was. He had a lot to tell them and plans needed to be made. He had sensed an edge of violence all over town and this was not going to be as easy as the rescue of Lucy had been.

**Carla and Narissa**

Once Loki had left, Narissa beckoned Carla to follow her into her office. She walked over and sat behind her desk and pointed at the seat on the other side. Carla sat down and waited for Narissa to speak.

"So, he was a member of Fairy Tail?" Narissa asked.

Wendy shrugged slightly, "Well he is but he is also a Celestial Spirit."

Narissa looked over in surprise "Excuse me?" she said in surprise.

"His name is Loki; he is also the Celestial Spirit Leo so he is a really powerful person. He has a contract with Lucy, who is a celestial wizard with Fairy Tail. He told me she sent him and that she is here with some of the Guild's most powerful wizards. They are too well known so they sent Loki ahead to find us so no-one realised they were here. I told him you wanted to take down Auboron as well and he wants to introduce you to the others so we can help Wendy and end this misery for everyone," Carla said, watching Narissa for a reaction.

Narissa leant back in her chair thinking. She had wanted this for so long, a chance to be free of the man who destroyed so many lives. There was a lot of risk as Auboron was powerful but she had heard about the wizards of Fairy Tail and she believed that if anyone could take Auboron down, it would be them.

"Ok, I will meet with them but we have to be careful. There is a back entrance to this place that no-one knows about. I use it when I want to move around town without Auboron and his men seeing me. It links to tunnels under the town. Lilia knows how to get through it, she will bring your friends here and we can work out a plan. It would be better if we get them soon as less people come here during the day. Where will they be?"

"Loki did not say," Carla said "But they will have picked an inn, somewhere busy so they would not stand out."

Narissa nodded, "I think I may have an idea."

She called Lilia in and looked over at her, "Lilia I need you to help us. Take Carla to the tunnel entrance by the large inn near the walls. When you get there, you need to go into the inn and find a man called Loki. He is a good-looking man with glasses and will be with a group. You need to be careful and not noticed, I know you are good at that. Bring them all to the tunnels and Carla will wait there for you to bring them back here. Ok?"

Lilia looked confused but nodded, used to doing as she was told. Narissa nodded and shooed them out the door and towards the tunnel entrance. As she closed the door behind the two girls, she leant against it and prayed she was going to right thing.


	12. Chapter 12

**Wendy**

Unaware of the plans developing around her, Wendy was growing increasingly angry and scared at her predicament. Auboron was getting steadily creepier and just being next to him made her skin crawl. Wendy was lost in thought, trying to work out how she could get her collar off when one of Auboron's men approached him and whispered in his ear. Auboron stiffened and Wendy sensed that something was happening. Without looking at Wendy, Auboron got up and stalked out of the room, the man following closely behind. Wendy looked around her. For the first time since she had arrived, she was on her own. No one was watching her. She waited a few minutes to see if Auboron reappeared and when he didn't, she took her chance and ran!

**Erza and the Others**

Erza and the group sat at a table listening to Loki as he told them what Carla had told him whilst they had been together. He was explaining about Narissa and her desire to help when Natsu interrupted.

"Do you think we can trust that woman or is she just setting us up?" he asked.

Loki shrugged, "She seemed honest and Carla looked like she trusted her. I think we have to give her the benefit of the doubt because she is the best chance that we have of getting into the guild".

Erza sat thinking, "I think Loki is right, we have to take a chance. This is a guild we are dealing with so we cannot assume that it will be as easy to get into as it was when we went for Lucy. This is a place full of wizards and we have no idea how powerful they are. We will be outnumbered."

The group fell quiet as they thought about the best way to go forward. As they did, a young girl appeared by the table, standing in front of Loki.

"Are you Loki?" she asked quietly.

Loki nodded recognition appearing on his face, "You are the girl from the brothel, who let me in?"

Lilia nodded, "Narissa sent me to get you and your friends. She thinks we need to make a move as she does not trust the people around her not to warn Auboron that you are here. I have brought Carla with me so you will know I am telling the truth. We can use the underground tunnels to get back to the brothel. Please follow me."

The group glanced at each other and Natsu shrugged and stood up.

"What do we have to lose? Let's go get Wendy," he said, gesturing to Lilia to lead the way to the tunnels.

The group followed Lilia out of the door and into the night. They came across the entrance to the tunnel hidden away behind a normal looking door. As they walked warily inside, a voice came out of the darkness.

"I am so glad to see you!"

Carla walked out of the shadows and straight into Lucy's arms. As the two girls stood hugging each other tightly, the others watched on. They pulled apart and Carla smiled at the others and turned and led the way back to the brothel where Narissa was waiting.

**Wendy**

After fleeing the main room, Wendy ran down the corridors, desperately looking for a way out of the guild. She was aware that she did not have much time until Auboron noticed that she was missing and she wanted to put as much distance between herself and him as she could. Behind her, she started to hear raised voices and she realised that her absence had been noticed. In desperation, she pulled open and door and ran through, heading down a flight of stairs into what looked like a cellar. She crawled behind some barrels and hugging her legs tightly against her, prayed that no one would find her.

Back in the hall, Auboron had returned and finding Wendy missing and flown into a rage. Guild members cowered and tried to avoid his eye line as his anger increased. Glaring around the room, he yelled,

"Find my precious one! If she escapes, you will all pay!"

As the guild members rushed to try and find Wendy, Auboron smiled slightly.

"Well, well my little bird so you want to play hard to get do you? Well I'll play."

He headed off into the guild, once he found his little precious it was time to make her his. He had waited long enough and she was about to get what was coming to her.

**Erza and the Others**

Erza and the group followed Carla and Lilia through the tunnels and arrived at the brothel. Lilia opened the door and beckoned the group to follow her quietly to Narissa's private quarters. It was still early in the day and so there were not many customers and they managed to arrive without anyone noticing. Narissa was sitting behind her desk waiting for them.

"Welcome to my place," she said "I have heard a lot about you all. Please take a seat, we have a lot to talk about."

Erza and the others sat down

"Why are you helping us?" Erza asked.

"Because I am sick of living this life. I am sick of seeing little girls being bought and used by that monster and I want revenge for my daughter. That monster took her from me and I will never forgive him for that. It ends now." Narissa replied.

Lucy looked over Narissa, compassion on her face "Your daughter …"

Narissa took a deep breath, "Auboron killed her. He took her from me, used her for his perverted games and when he tired of her, he killed her."

Natsu frowned, "Why has no one done something before now?"

Narissa sighed, "You do not understand the power he has here. Or his magic. He has a form of possession magic which he uses to control people. He can take over a person and their magic and use them against their friends. Once you get into the guild, every one of you will be at risk of that happening. If he gets hold of you, all your power and strength is his to control. No one has ever beaten him as he just takes over anyone who tries."

Erza looked at the others, "That is a problem. We are going to have to be extremely careful in our approach but first things first, Gray get that collar off Carla."

Gray smiled and walked over to Carla, "Hold still, I am going to freeze it and shatter it. It might get a bit cold."

Carla nodded and stood still and seconds later she was free of her collar. With a sigh she changed back into her Exceed form. "Oh, that is better," she muttered.

Narissa blinked and looked at Carla, "Well I was not expecting that!"

"Yeah I get that a lot," Carla laughed.

Erza looked around the room, "Right, we need a plan. This is not going to be easy."

The others nodded and the planning got underway

**Wendy**

Wendy stayed cowered behind the barrels, fiddling with her collar trying desperately to get it off but it would not shift. Suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs to the cellar and she froze, hardly daring to breath. Her senses on high alert, she listened to the sound of footsteps as they walked around the cellar.

"I know you are down here, little birdie!" a voice said and Wendy cowered away recognising Auboron's voice.

As Wendy tried to move further behind the barrels, she kicked a piece of loose stone and it skittered away across the floor. She closed her eyes and waited. Suddenly, the barrel was thrown to one side and a hand reached in dragging her out by her hair. She screamed and kicked but Auboron was too strong for her to push off. Auboron pulled her up so she was standing facing him.

"You tried to fly away little bird. I was going to treat you so nicely but now; you have forced me to treat you roughly. This is all you fault, remember that," Auboron said.

Wendy squirmed desperately in his hands but he tightened the grip on her hair and dragged her from the cellar. Wendy tried desperately to stay on her feet but she could not keep up and by the time they reached Auboron's quarters, he was dragging her along the floor behind him. Once inside, he picked her up and threw her onto the bed.

"Time to pay up little bird," he said loosening his belt.

Wendy pushed herself up against the wall and started to cry. This was not happening, where were her friends. A knock on the door, caused Auboron to curse and pull open the door.

"This better be important," he growled.

The man whispered something in Auboron's ear. Auboron pulled his belt tight again and turning back to Wendy said;

"Don't go away little bird, I will be back. It appears some Fairies are planning on making trouble."

As he walked out locking the door Wendy collapsed on the bed, tears streaming down her face. They were coming. Her friends were coming for her.

**Erza and the Others**

The conversation had been going around in circles and they were no closer to working out how to get Wendy. Natsu was all for going in and just bashing his way in. Erza pointed out that Auboron could use his own power against him but Natsu shrugged.

"Not if I get to him first," he said.

Gray looked at Natsu, "The idiot may be on to something. I mean if he does not see us coming, then he won't be able to use our power against us. Between us we can slay dragons and demons and Erza is scary and Loki is a spirit so surely we have a chance. He can't control us all at once."

Narissa nodded in agreement, "He can only control one person at a time but if he controls someone powerful, you need to be sure that the rest of you can beat that person."

Natsu shrugged again, "So we send Lucy in first."

Lucy glared at him, "What the hell?"

Natsu looked over, "What?"

Erza shook her head, "Natsu just stop talking!"

A timid knock sounded on the door and Lilia came in. She stood twisting her hands in front of her. Narissa looked over,

"What is it girl? Spit it out!" she said

"The master knows, someone has told him. One of the girls just got back from the guild and said he is storming around shouting about Fairies," Lilia said

Erza stood up, "Well I guess that makes the planning worthless. We go now. Natsu, Gray you are with me. Lucy go with Loki and Carla and try and find Wendy, I assume you can get her collar off Loki?"

Loki rolled his eyes slightly, "Obviously!"

"Good we need all the help we can get and another dragon slayer will not go amiss," Erza said

Narissa stood up, "I will come with you. I know my way around the guild so I can help you look for your friend. Come with me, we will go through the tunnels. Hopefully we can catch them by surprise."

With a final glace at the others Erza nodded and followed Narissa to the tunnels, all of them prepared for the fight of their lives.


	13. Chapter 13 - The end!

**The Finale **

Auboron stalked through the guild towards the main hall. He was furious that he had been interrupted and if it proved to be for nothing, the messenger would pay! He stormed in the hall and sat in his seat.

"This better be good," he snapped.

In front of him a short, fat man was kneeling on the floor.

"It is, my Lord. I was at Narissa's place and I heard talking. The girl I was with tells me things. She said that a group of strangers had come through some tunnels and were talking to Narissa. They had the same guild mark as that new girl you sent over there," the man said.

Auboron looked at the man, "Can this girl be trusted not to lie?"

The man chuckled, feeling more confident, "Yeah I tell her I can get her released and she tells me tales on everyone who goes there. It is what I do you see, collect information to be passed on,"

Auboron nodded, thinking. "Well they will be expecting to catch us by surprise so how about we spoil that for them. I want you all to look casual, lets lure them in and then when they get into this room, we finish them once and for all."

Auboron looked around the room, he had heard the rumours of the Fairy Tail guild and he was not entirely sure he would be as easy as he was making out but he had a big guild and even if the Fairies took out some of his men, they would need a miracle to take out them all. Auboron sighed, his little birdie would have to wait.

**Erza and the Others**

Erza and the others stood at the entrance to the tunnels. Narissa had established how the news had got out and the girl in question was now locked in her room, scared to death of the furious Narissa.

"Bloody stupid girl believing a man could free her!" Narissa muttered. "Well there is nothing for it now. Of course, Auboron does not know that we know he is expecting us and so that is still in our favour!"

Erza nodded, "Right we go in hard. It is all we can do now."

Gray and Natsu fist bumped, "Is there any other way?" Natsu asked.

"Right, same plan. We hit the main hall, Lucy, Carla and Loki go look for Wendy. Don't try to be subtle, just take anyone out you come across. They are dark wizards and deserve nothing less!" Erza said.

With that, they group headed into the tunnels and towards the guild, moving quickly but quietly, all of them focused on finding Wendy and kicking the ass of anyone who got in the way! The tunnels winded under the city and in no time, they were standing outside a door that led into the guild.

"Where does this come out?" Erza asked quietly.

"At the far side of the guild by the kitchens. It is not far from the main hall but the guild is big. If your friend is not in the main hall, I would think he has her in his rooms. They are on the other side of the guild, so you will need to head that way," Narissa said looking at Lucy.

Lucy nodded and with that, Narissa opened the door and the group headed into the guild. They moved quietly through the store rooms and once into the main corridor, Narissa pointed one way to Lucy and Loki and led Erza, Gray and Natsu the other way towards the main hall.

The corridors were quiet to begin with, too quiet maybe and if they had not known that the guild was waiting for them, the group would probably have let their guard down. As it was, they moved as a group, keeping their eye out for guards or people waiting to attack. Within a few minutes, they arrived at the entrance to the main hall and with a last glance at each other, they charged into the room and the attack began!

**Lucy, Loki and Carla**

Meanwhile, Lucy, Carla and Loki were heading further into the guild, hoping to find Wendy without too much trouble. Realising they had no idea where Auboron's rooms might be, they had not choice but to just look in every room that they came across.

"This is going to take ages," Lucy said, walking out of another empty room.

"We don't really have much choice, we need to keep looking," Carla said.

Loki walked out of the room opposite and shook his head, "Nothing here."

Lucy sighed and led the way around the next corner, coming to a sudden stop as facing her was a room with a group of guild members armed and waiting. They stood blocking the corridor leading out of the room and Lucy assumed that this must lead to Auboron's rooms and they were there to stop anyone getting through. She glanced over at Loki who shrugged and raising his hands, the fight began.

**Erza, Gray and Natsu **

Erza should not have worried about them not catching the guild by surprise. Even though they had been expecting them, the sight of a furious dragon slayer, an ice wizard and Erza in full Black Wing Armour caught many of the lesser wizards off guard and their reactions were slowed. Auboron stood up next to his seat and watched, one eyebrow raised as his men fell. Erza looked over at him and yelled at Gray and Natsu.

"Remember if you get too close, he can control you. Stay as far away as you can!"

Auboron frowned, there was only one person who could have told them about his magic and he caught sight of Narissa standing by the door. When this was over, he would make that bitch pay for this! Even now, Auboron had no doubt that there was no way this small group of wizards could be able to take down his entire guild.

Natsu and Gray were systematically burning and freezing their way across the room, heading towards the platform where Auboron was standing. Erza was fighting with a wizard whose own skills with a sword were impressive and it was taking her longer than she would like to put him down. Auboron was still watching, he had not made a move to help any of his guild mates. It was clear that in this guild, it was each man for himself. Auboron seemed to realise that things were not going his way and he yelled at two nearby wizards to join him. As he did, he grabbed hold of them, taking their power and amplifying it. He stared out across the room, meeting the eyes of Natsu and Gray. As he did, he raised his arms and alongside the wizards he had borrowed power from, he brought the guild hall ceiling down on top of them.

Gray threw up a barrier of ice above himself and Natsu but he was too far away to cover Erza as well. In the chaos, Auboron left the room. His own wizards had also been taken out by the roof falling but he did not care in the slightest. They were replaceable. With a final look at the now buried main room, he headed back to his own room. He would take what was his. He might not be able to win this fight but he would make sure that his little birdie never forgot her time with him and maybe afterwards he would take off her collar and make her fight her own friends. The craziness that had always laid under the surface of everything Auboron did was now fully in control and he ran through the halls, heading back to his little birdie.

**Lucy, Loki and Carla**

Lucy stood catching her breath in the middle of the room looking at the pile of bodies laying at their feet. It had been a hard fight and she was glad that she had Loki with her to help. The way out of the room was now clear and she took a step in the direction of the door. As she did, the whole building shuddered and the sound of crashing came from behind them. Lucy look behind them.

"That came from the main hall, do you think the others are ok?" she said.

"I don't know," Loki said "It sounded like the building is collapsing."

"We need to keep moving," Carla said "Wendy is here somewhere."

"You're right," Lucy said "the others can look after themselves."

She started to walk towards the door out of the room but the rumbling got louder and the ceiling in front of them collapsed, cutting them off from the way out.

"We should probably for back, help the others and then we can all go find Wendy. The whole corridor beyond that door is blocked" Loki said.

Lucy and Carla reluctantly followed him back in the direction of the main hall. This rescue was not going at all how they hoped it would.

**Auboron**

Auboron dodged bits of falling brickwork and hoped he had not overdone it and crushed his little birdie. Arriving back at his room, he was relieved to see it was still standing. He opened the door and found Wendy cowering on the bed where he left her. He could see fear in her eyes.

"Where you expecting someone else?" he mocked "I dropped the building on your friends so it is just me and you now, little bird".

Wendy didn't speak but her mind was going in circles. Was it possible that he had beaten the strongest wizards from Fairy Tail? Auboron walked across the room and grabbed hold of Wendy, pinning her down on the bed. Wendy squirmed and kicked out with her legs, but Auboron was considerably bigger and stronger than she was and in no time, he managed to strap her to the bed. Wendy continued to thrash about, trying to get loose and yelling at the top of her voice. She might be helpless but she was not planning on making things easy for him! Auboron looked at her, and with a sigh shoved a ball gag into her mouth.

"None of that little birdie, it is spoiling my mood," he said.

Leaving Wendy helpless on the bed, crying tears of frustration, Auboron walked over to a record player on the side and place the needle on the record. The sounds of a classical opera filled the room and for a minute, he stood eyes closed as he listened to the music. Wendy lay on the bed, realising that the man in the room with her was insane.

Auboron finally opened his eyes and opening a cupboard, picked up a jar of ink and a brush and headed back to the bed. Wendy watched him warily. Auboron dipped the brush in the ink and carefully drew and archaic symbol on her arm. As the ink touched her skin, a burning sensation caused Wendy to cry out behind her gag. Auboron continued to draw symbols on her arms and legs before moving to her stomach.

"This is special ink little birdie; I know it hurts but it will not scar your pretty skin." Auboron said, as he painted.

Wendy squirmed as much as she could, tears running down her face. The pain from the ink was bad but she could cope with that, she had been in fights that had hurt worse. She cried not because he was hurting her but because she knew what was coming and although she did not want to give up hope that the others would reach her in time, she was scared that this time they would not make it.

Auboron finished painting and put the bottle on the table next to the bed. He looked down at

Wendy and smiled.

"Right little birdie, let's get you out of those clothes …"

**Erza and the Others**

Erza groaned and pushed bits of ceiling from on top of her. She looked around the room, trying to get her bearings. Everywhere around her, people were groaning and unsteadily getting to their feet or laying prone and not moving. She could not understand why type of guild master would deliberately bring a guild hall down onto his own guild members! She shook her head trying to clear her mind and she looked up at where Auboron had been and realised he had gone. She looked around for Gray and Natsu and saw them breaking out from the ice Gray had thrown up to protect them from the falling building. Behind her, Lucy and her group ran into the room and to Erza's side.

"We couldn't get through," Lucy said "The building collapsed and blocked the way."

Erza looked around and grabbed the nearest guild member and pulling him to his feet, growled at him.

"Where will your master have gone?"

The man pointed out of the far door, "That was, his rooms are down there on the left."

Erza was on her feet and heading to the door. Gray and Natsu started to follow but she stopped them with a look.

"Stay here and make sure all the guild members are restrained. I have this." The look on her face left no room for argument.

**Auboron**

Back at his room, Auboron was sipping wine and looking at Wendy. He was taking his time, as his madness took over, he had lost all sense that people may at this moment be hunting him down. He put his hand down and gripped the zipper that went up the front of Wendy's outfit. Wendy cried harder and tried to pull on her straps holding her. There was no compassion to be seen on Auboron's face. He pulled at the zipper, watching the distress on Wendy's face as he did. As the zip got lower, it was obvious that Auboron was excited at the prospect of what was to come. Finally, the zipper reached just above Wendy's groin and as she sobbed, he prepared to pull it down.

Suddenly, the door behind them shattered and Auboron looked down in surprise at the sword protruding from his chest. Blood ran from his mouth and dripped down onto Wendy as she lay, staring at the point of the sword. A second later, the sword was pulled out and with a look of surprise still on his face, Auboron toppled sideways onto the floor. Still holding her sword, Erza smiled down at Wendy and cut the restraints holding her to the bed.

"Sorry I'm late," Erza said.

Wendy sobbed in relief and threw herself into Erza's arms. Sometime later, that was how the others found them. Erza sitting on the bed with Wendy wrapped in her arms as Erza stroked her hair. Gray silently took of his coat and wrapped it around Wendy's shoulders. Finally, her nightmare was over!


End file.
